LTA: The Prince and The Prankster
by OC'specialty
Summary: When Lizzie Donovan meets Loki of Asgard, she hates him. However, as she is thrown in his company more, she begins to realize that perhaps there is more to the man than the bitter facade he puts up. She decides to help him, all the while growing closer. But when her past catches up with her, his trust is shaken. Will he go back? Or will he push on and forgive? Loki/Oc. Preview.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **When Lizzie Donovan meets Loki of Asgard, she hates him, wishing she'd had the wherewithal to do more than just slap him. However, as she is thrown in his company more, she begins to realize that perhaps there is more to the man than the bitter facade he puts up. she decides to help him on the road to rehabilitation, hoping to bring him to a point where she thinks he should be to defeat the impending attack by the Mad Titan. But when her own past comes back to haunt her, and her own lies are revealed, will his trust be shaken to a point where he reverts back to where he had been? Or will he decide to forgive and forget, becoming the Prince of Asgard that he once was?

**A/N: Okay, so I uploaded this before, but then after it being up a week with only one review, I decided to reread it - at which point I decided to try something else and rewrite it. As with its compadres, I am only posting this bit so that you guys can get an idea on the story. I will only update as long as you guys review, or else I will scrap it. Please review, as your reviews will be what determines whether or not I continue with this story, that and I survive on reviews - no reviews, no continue. :) Thanks. **

* * *

Odin stood in front of his throne, his helmet of gold gleaming in the light which came in through the court windows. He had a grim look upon his face, a determined solemnity which dared anyone to try to contradict him; while his eyes gazed down upon his adopted son with sadness. How long had he raised Loki as his son, shielding him from the truth of his heritage... only to find that those very lies were the things which estranged Loki in the end?

Now, here his son stood, a muzzle preventing him from using his manipulating ways; from using his renown 'silvertongue'. Here he stood, green eyes staring up at him, awaiting his sentencing for his attempted destruction of Midgard.

"Loki... Odinson..." the King began, "The evidence has been brought against you, and you have been charged with attempted fratricide, attempted destruction of Jotunhëim, and invasion of Midgard." he looked at his son, "Therefore, you shall be stripped of your power, which you have used for the destruction of others. You shall be sent to the Tower of Solitude, henceforth, where you shall have time to consider your actions, and hopefully learn to regret that which you have done."

Loki turned his gaze toward Frigga, eyes pleading with her to do something. Although he felt nothing but disdain for Odin and Thor, Frigga was the only one who he had truly felt had made him apart of the family – the only one he still considered as his mother... but she could only look at him just as pitifully. There was no way that she would openly disregard Odin's decision, despite her love for Loki.

His glare then turned to Odin, and Thor who stood beside him. His 'brother' had been the only one to speak in his defense, or else he would have – no doubt – been banished to the Isle of Silence. Thor had said that Loki had been influential in his regaining his place in Asgard, as he would not have learned his lesson on Midgard unless Loki had sent the Destroyer... but that had only swayed the sentencing from certain death, to indefinite imprisonment. He was sure he would have preferred death, as imprisonment seemed to just add insult to injury. They still were trying to lie and say that he was apart of their family. And yet – he had not been allowed to speak.

"I, Odin, hereby take from you your powers." Loki could feel a tingling beginning to go through him, intense pain starting to replace it as his powers were extracted from him. He screamed behind the muzzle as he fell to the ground, but the sound was not heard by those present, who looked on with very little pity. Thor almost stepped forward, but Frigga held up a hand, shaking her head as she watched her younger son, in sorrow. The feeling dissipated, and Loki stood, his head held high as he felt a strange emptiness inside of him. He glared at his father, hating the fact that he had made him so weak...

"Sentencing has been carried out." Odin boomed throughout the court, "May the prisoner be taken to the place of his punishment."

The guard which surrounded Loki pushed him toward the doors, and escorted him to his new cell.

* * *

Phillip Dale walked down the hallway to his office in the marketing branch of Stark Tower. Being forty-five, and in charge of the entire department was something he found rather enjoyable. He had worked all his life to be in management, and now he was. After all, being a workerbee was a bit of a boring task for him, as he enjoyed being in charge instead. He couldn't help it, it was his nature.

He was early for once, that Monday morning, happy that he'd been able to wear his white shirt without ruining it once during breakfast. Quite an achievement, considering the color white was his bane, he usually couldn't go for an hour without marking in it some fashion.

"Good morning, Mr. Dale." his secretary, Miss Hope, greeted. "Having a good day?"

"Yes, I think I am." Phillip replied, "Any messages?"

Miss Hope nodded, pushing her cokebottle glasses higher on her nose, her grey eyes scanning her notepad. "Uh, yes. You have an appointment at nine, and another at eleven."

"I'm also having lunch with my wife at twelve." he added.

"And don't forget the staff meeting at two, and the conference with the legal department at three." Miss Hope replied.

"And we have the proposals that have to get done by Friday."

"Sounds like we're going to be busy." she chuckled.

Phillip laughed, "Tell me about it." he said, going to walk into his office.

"Oh, sir, this was left under the door when I came in." she said, passing him a envelope which had his name scrawled in very elegant handwriting. Uh oh.

Opening it up, his worst fears were realized as he realized who it was from. "Dammit no!" he shouted, opening his office and running in. "I am going to have her head!" he shouted as he stormed back out of his office.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the legal floor, Elizabeth Donovan was showing her co-workers her most recent prank and Mr. Dale's reaction, using the recording system in the building which she had hacked – well, that she had been allowed to hack. She had glued his office, right down to the coffee cup on the desk, to the ceiling using a Stark-tested glue which would hold such weight. It was her best prank yet, and surely could not be topped by the equally pranking Phillip Dale. He had started it, but her grandmother had always told her to finish on top.

_"Not even Langley can save her this time!" _Phillip shouted as he stormed back down the marketing hallway, going into the the elevator and pushing the buttons a little too hard. His poor secretary waited until his stomping around the floor was no longer heard before she burst out laughing, calling the others in the office to come and see.

_"Is something wrong, Mr. Dale?" _Jarvis, the AI in the building asked the perturbed manager in the elevator, faux concern lacing its tone.

"Lizzie, you're so dead when he tells Mrs. Langley." Pat Morris told her, watching on her i-pad as the manager fumed.

"Ack, what can he do?" Lizzie asked, pushing a long lock of brown hair out of her face, "I work for Langley, not Dale. He can't fire me, and the worst she can do is forbid me from pulling a prank until April Fools – which wouldn't be too hard. This sneaky stuff is hard work."

"You seem to be good at it." Mark Miller replied, "Are you sure you're not related to James Bond or something."

Lizzie laughed, "Ha! I can see it now." she said, jumping down from the desk, and using her deepest voice, "My name's Donovan... Liz Donovan."

"Why 'Liz''?" Mark asked.

"Cause nobody would take 'Elizabeth' seriously. Its not sexy enough... you know, like 'Liz Taylor'." she replied.

"Miss Elizabeth, perhaps you ought to put that away? Mr. Dale is about to approach the floor." Jarvis warned her.

"Thanks Jarvis, I'll do that." Lizzie replied, "Okay kids," she started, referring to the group of seven co-workers who had all surrounded her desk, "Break's over, get back to work."

"You going to tell him you did it?" Pat asked.

Lizzie smirked, "I don't know yet."

_"DONOVAN!"_

* * *

Thor walked into the throne room, unsure of why he had been summoned. It had been two years in Asgard since the Chitauri invasion of New York, the time passing differently on earth than the golden realm; the royal family still somewhat in mourning over what had happened to the fallen son of Asgard. Loki still sat in the Tower of Solitude, carrying out his sentence completely alone. Although Frigga had mourned her lost son, she did not speak of the younger prince... it simply brought about too much pain and guilt.

Thor still loved his brother, but he knew his father's decision for his brother's indefinite imprisonment was as merciful as he could be. Some Asgardians believed that Odin had gone too easy on Loki, stripping him of his powers and incarcerating him; believing that the prince should have been sent somewhere worse, or even executed for his crimes. Thor could only hope his brother would repent of his deeds, and one day be brought back into the family. For now, he waited to find out what his father wanted from him.

"Thor, there you are!" Frigga greeted, embracing him. "How did things go on Midgard?"

"Well, New York is rebuilding. Its slow, but they're making progress, the Avengers are very helpful in that aspect." he said.

"I'm glad to hear that. The mortals have always been so, let us hope nothing ever makes them lose their endurance." Frigga replied.

"Thor, I'm afraid we have some bad news." Odin said, bringing Thor's attention to the fact that Heimdall was in the room. Not much could get the gatekeeper to leave his post, Thor concluded that whatever his father had to tell him, it had to be serious to have pulled the gatekeeper from the remnants of the bifrost.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

Odin looked to Heimdall, whose all-seeing eyes seemed to look right past Thor. "There seems to be a force building in the outer reaches of the nine realms." Heimdall boomed, "The Mad Titan."

Thor looked at his parents, "The being who assisted Loki in his attack on earth." he said.

"Yes, apparently he has not forgotten how Loki failed him." Heimdall affirmed, "Nor has he forgotten his want of the Cosmic Cube, and Hel's demand for her love. He is building an army, and intends to try to attack Midgard once again."

This caught the Prince's attention. "Again?" he repeated, "Midgard is weak at present, they cannot withstand another attack; and Thanos would be much more impacting than Loki ever was."

"That is why you were called here, my son." Odin replied, "We're going to need your assistance."

"We need you to speak with Loki." Frigga interjected.

"Loki?" Thor repeated, "How long do we have, Heimdall?"

"Not very long, my prince. He is almost ready to move." the gatekeeper answered.

The king and queen of Asgard shared a glance. "Loki has the most information on how to deal with the Other and the Mad Titan." Odin said, "We need his help. Midgard needs his help."

"What if he refuses?" Thor asked.

"We need his help, son," Frigga spoke, the love for Loki evident in her tone.

"Thanos will use Midgard as a vantage to Asgard, and from there the rest of the nine realms. Midgard must be protected." Odin replied.

Thor looked between his parents, then to Heimdall. "Hopefully Loki is willing to listen."

"That is what we all hope, Thor." Frigga replied

* * *

Lizzie looked out on the stormy weather, wondering where on earth it had come from. The morning had started out clear enough, the Weather Channel not aware of any kind of fronts moving in... but it seemed the guesserologists had guessed wrong again, and the rain had come pouring down as she waited for her sister to come into the lobby so they could go home.

She wondered what her seanmháthair – or grandmother if you didn't speak Gaelic – had decided to make for dinner. She had to hand it to the woman, she was a brilliant cook. Then again, she had come from the old country, and had only moved to America after her husband had died. Seeing as she had to raise two granddaughters, she figured that America was a better place to settle down than Cork, Ireland. More opportunities for everything.

"Lizzie, are you seriously looking out on the rain?" a voice called out from behind her. Lizzie chuckled, turning back to her twin sister.

"Yes, Bella, I am. I like the rain in case you haven't noticed." Lizzie said.

Bella shook her strawberry-blond hair out of her eyes. "Oh, I have. Wasn't it supposed to be sunny today, though?" she asked.

Lizzie snorted, "Yeah, that never stopped the weather." she said as they both braved the rain to get a taxi home.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"230 Seeley St, Brooklyn." Bella replied, taking off her heels and allowing her feet to relax.

"Both to Brooklyn?" the driver inquired again. A blond and brown eyebrow rose at him, "Alright, Brooklyn it is."

To be confused of why both women wanted to go to the same place was understandable – the sisters looked nothing alike. Yes, they were twins, but somehow they'd managed to wind up on opposite ends of the gene pool. While Bella was tall, Lizzie was short; Bella was fair with freckles, Lizzie was darker with olive skin. The only thing they had in common was the shape of their eyes, but the color contrasted that as Bellas were a startling color of blue and Lizzies were brown. Yet, they were sisters, there was no doubt about it. Even in school everyone knew that they were so close that no one dared to drive a wedge in between them... not even their boyfriends.

"How was work?" Lizzie asked her sister.

Bella sighed, "Interesting. I take it that you were the one who played that little prank on Mr. Dale?" Lizzie ducked her head with a chuckle, "Is that where you were all weekend?"

"Hey, stuff like that takes time." Lizzie retorted.

"What did Mrs. Langley say?" Bella asked.

Lizzie shrugged, "Nothing, just a slap on the wrist with a 'no pranks till April' thing... then after Mr. Dale was gone she congratulated me on my ingenuity. The woman is a closet pranker." she replied as the cab stopped in front of their building. Getting out, Lizzie paid the cabbie, racing her sister to the door as they both tried to get out of the rain. "You only won because you took off your heels." she complained as they went inside.

"We're home!" Bella shouted once the door closed, shaking her blond tresses from the moisture which had formed.

"Oh, 'ello darlings." an Irish accent came as the red-headed elderly woman came out of the kitchen. Her age and her looks had never matched, as her hair was still vibrantly red at the ripe old age of seventy-eight, indeed for Kathleen Donovan had always been known for looking rather young for her age. "I just finished up the stew, it'll be ready in about ten minutes." Lizzie and Bella took turns kissing the woman on the cheek. "How was work?"

"Ugh, droll as usual." Bella replied as she collapsed on the couch, "I had Mr. Tyson yapping in my ear all day about how I was doing the books wrong, he wouldn't leave me alone. But Lizzie had some fun, I heard."

"Oh?" Kathleen exclaimed, "And what did darling Elizabeth do?"

"Played a prank on Mr. Dale." Lizzie answered, "I glued his furniture to the ceiling, caused quite a ruckus."

Kathleen fixed her granddaughter with a stare, "And did you tell Mr. Dale how to get it back down?" she asked, her wooden spoon sitting menacingly in her hand.

"Did you raise me to only play a prank that could be reversed, and never stick it out for too long lest you harm the pranked?" Lizzie asked.

"That doesn't answer the question, young woman."

"You did, and by the end of the day, he was happily finishing up his work at a desk on the floor. Quite ingenious if you ask me, I thought it was something which couldn't be topped." Lizzie said smugly.

"Until, of course, you top it." Bella quipped.

Her sister scoffed, "Well, I am the best."

"Humble too."

"That's enough, the pair of you. Go get into some clothes you won't mind dirtying, and come help me in the kitchen." she said, shooing them off. "And don't take forever Lizzie, or there won't be any food for you tonight."

"Yes, seanmháthair!" Lizzie and Bella called back, doing as ordered before dinner.

* * *

Loki sat in his cell, a book ever-so-casually in his lap. He had been here for what seemed like forever, and had resigned himself – bitterly – to the fact that he probably would be there forever. 'To think on his actions' that is what Odin said, but Loki spent most of his time brooding; pondering on when it was that he had first began to notice his family's distance from himself. When he noticed that he was different than they – and he wondered what would have happened had he never gone to Jotunhëim with Thor that fateful day... would he still be living under the illusion that he was Odin's son?

The doors to his cell opened, but he did not look up. After two years of having his tray of food delivered to him by a fellow prisoner who had been made a mute, he did not even care if the man was present; he wouldn't talk back anyway. However, the familiar sound of his tray being set up was not present before the door shut, and he looked up all the same – then seeing who it was, he went back to looking at his book.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the Prince of Asgard, "Shouldn't you be off saving Midgardians from some horrible catastrophe, or starting a war with some unassuming realm?"

"I am here for one purpose Loki." Thor replied, "Heimdall has seen something from your previous ally."

Loki looked up once more, "Oh? And how does that concern me? I'm currently trapped in a tower – compliments of the Allfather – and have no means of escape, if that's what you're worried about. Whatever the Other is planning is not my concern anymore." he replied tersely.

"This has nothing to do with you, or the Other." Thor insisted, "It has to do with the Mad Titan."

Green eyes darkened, memories of what he had been warned about. 'There is nowhere we won't find you.' He looked at Thor. "Again, what has that got to do with me?"

"I need your help." Thor answered, walking further into the room.

Loki scoffed, "My help?" he echoed, "Oh, that is rich _Odinson_. Get the convicted criminal to help you get another criminal."

"Nevertheless," Thor began, "You are the only one who can help us."

"Oh... is that so?"

* * *

"Whatever gave you the idea that I liked Mike Shannon?" Lizzie asked Bella as arrived at work the following Friday. Bella rolled her eyes, a smirk on her lips.

"Perhaps because you talked to him the majority of the night?" Bella supplied. "You were there to see Courtney, and you wound up talking to her brother the entire night."

Lizzie huffed, "I was just being polite." she muttered, "He wouldn't stop talking – hell, I can't even recall half of what he said."

Bella chuckled as they went into the elevator, "Yeah, sure."

"Oh, come on..." Lizzie said exasperatedly, "He's too boring for me. I like a guy who can engage my mind, and make me think."

"Good luck, Liz." Bella replied as the elevator dinged, announcing that they had made it to accounting. "This is my floor, I'll see you at lunch."  
"Sure, same as usual?" Lizzie asked as the doors closed.

Bella nodded as she walked away, leaving Lizzie to ascend to her floor. As she exited the elevator, the hum of office workers could be heard throughout the floor. After ease dropping a bit, Lizzie could make out what was going on. Apparently Mr. Stark had a visitor of the otherwordly kind. Thor had returned to New York, with a cloaked figure in tow, and everyone wanted to know who it was – and no one had any answers.

"Good morning Lizzie." Pat greeted, pushing a frizzy curl behind her ear. "Did you hear the news?"

Lizzie snorted, placing her starbucks coffee on her desk as she adjusted her blazer to hide the coffee stain she had already acquired on her white blouse. "Something about a cloaked figure arriving with the guy who called down lightening from the sky during the invasion?" she said, sitting down and starting up her computer.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Pat asked.

"Uh, none of the women around here are very subtle... especially when it comes to gossip." Lizzie replied, shuffling papers around her desk."Hey, have you seen the proposal for the Baxter Building?"  
"Mrs. Langley sent it off this morning. Apparently Mr. Stark finally signed it." Pat replied.

"About time." Lizzie muttered, taking a sip of coffee, burning her tongue.

A head popped over the cubicle wall. "Hey Donovan, you're wanted by Langley upstairs." her co-worker Gene said. "You might want to get up there ASAP."

"Great." Lizzie said, "R&D?"

Gene snickered, "You wish. Don't look at me like that, everyone knows you have a crush on Dr. Banner." Lizzie's face got red as she reached up to smack Gene, but he ducked last minute. "Anyways, she wants you up in the apartments."  
It was Pat's turn to snicker as she looked at Lizzie's incredulous look. "Why does she want me up there?" she asked.

"She has something she wants to talk to you personally about. Something that has sensitive material." Gene answered, "But if I were you, I wouldn't keep her waiting."

Lizzie stood up, "Thank you Gene, I know how to do my job." she snapped, heading for the elevators. Once inside, she asked Jarvis why it was she had been sent for.

"I couldn't tell you, Miss Elizabeth. I can assure you Mrs. Langley hasn't informed me." Jarvis answered, "I'm sorry."

"No problem, I'm just surprised I'm being allowed above the thirty-ninth floor." she muttered to herself.

"It was Mrs. Langley's personal wish, she argued with Mr. Stark for quite some time before he conceded and allowed your clearance level upped." Jarvis said.

"Upped?" Lizzie repeated, pinching herself "I must be dreaming."

"I'm afraid you're very much awake, Miss Elizabeth." Jarvis said dryly as the doors opened, "Welcome to Mr. Stark's personal quarters. Mrs. Langley is down the hall, turn left, then the room to the right. She's waiting for you."

"Thank you Jarvis." Lizzie said, heading down the hall. Mrs. Langley was there as Jarvis had said, reading a book.

"Oh, Lizzie, there you are." she said, flipping her brown hair out of her eyes as she stood up to greet Lizzie. Mrs. Emma Langley was quite young, at only twenty-five, who had taken the twenty-year-old Lizzie under her wing the moment the girl applied for an internship. Ever since, she had treated her like a younger sibling. "Look, I need you to do something for me."

"So I heard. Emma, I hope everything is alright." Lizzie replied.

"Well, lets put it this way: I'm going to be having an extended stay with Mr. Stark due to some information which I just got." Emma retorted, "Can you get Andrew from my mom's house and bring him here? As well as bring a few of my things from my apartment."

"Of course. That's no trouble at all." Lizzie replied, "Can I ask why it is that you didn't just call me or something?"  
"Because no one else is to know that I'm staying in the tower. Safety-wise its a bad idea, you can tell my mom that I'm on a business trip for Mr. Stark, and I don't know when I'll get back. Tell her I'm in Europe or something – you're creative." Emma replied, "Just don't tell her where I really am."

Lizzie nodded, "Anything else?"

"No, that should be it. If there is anything else I'll let you know when you come back up here." Emma said, "Thank you so much for this."

"Hey, no problem. Its all apart of the job description." Lizzie replied, "After all, I did decided not to be the paper girl."

"You _were _a marvelous paper girl." Emma teased.

Lizzie looked around, "So this is the infamous Apartment... I'm disappointed."

Emma scoffed, "Disappointed? How?"

"I was expecting hovering chairs, and all sciencey. It looks too normal to be Iron Man's." she replied as Emma chuckled.

"Well, maybe in another ten or twenty years, we'll see how he decides to decorate." Emma said.

"Alright, well I'll get going. Spread the word – what time does Andrew get off of school?"

"3:30." Emma answered, thanking Lizzie once again for her help.

Leaving the room, Lizzie couldn't help but get a little lost when it came to the directions, and she accidentally wound up making a wrong turn. "Jarvis, which way is the elevator?" she asked, finally remembering the AI was there to help her.

"Turn left, Miss Elizabeth." it instructed, but she wasn't prepared when she suddenly found herself faceplanted into a leather-covered chest.

"Watch where you're going!" the silky voice above her said as she righted herself, looking up at the person she had run into.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I didn't notice-" her gaze turned upwards, and she looked at him properly.

It was _him. _The man – or alien – who had tried to take over her city, her world. She couldn't believe that he was _here _of all places. It had been eight months since the attack, but she still woke up in a cold sweat as she remembered running around Manhattan trying to find Bella in the madness that was New York City. All because of this bastard.

She'd never seen him upclose, but there was no question in her mind that it was him. Eyes wide, and mouth agape she began backing away from him, not quite sure how to react. She looked him over, from his sleek black hair, to his aristocratic features – all in all she found him incredibly attractive. Who couldn't? His eyes simply bored into you, their green hue something which she had never seen before. His figure was lithe, but not skinny like most guys her age, which a girl like her appreciated.

"Were you not going somewhere?" he asked with a smirk, noticing her wide eyes appraising him thoroughly.

His voice seemed to snap her out of her reverie, and she remembered that behind this pretty shell was a killer. Narrowing her eyes, she slapped him as hard as possible, watching as his head actually turned with the blow. His eyes turned back to hers, a sad look lingering for a moment before his haughty mask returned. "How dare you?"

"How dare I?" she retorted with a scoff, "I do believe you tried to take over my planet. I think that I have every right to dare." she slapped him again, "Because one slap is not enough for the damage you incurred, you selfish bastard."

Green eyes narrowed as he wished he had his magical powers – the girl would be destroyed in a second. Sure, he took a moment to admire her bravery, as foolish as it was, but he couldn't help but want her destruction. Her pretty little face would be no more as she was reduced to dust. He was a god, and yet she had hit him hard enough to make a sting. If only...

"Loki!" the voice of the man out of time broke through his red haze, "We need you." Captain Rogers said, defensive as he watched the Asgardian. He had watched Lizzie slap him, knowing the girl was probably somewhat idiotic in that respect. He nodded in her direction, and she replied in kind.

"Yeah Rock of Ages, lets go. Stop tormenting the girl and get back in here, we have a job to do." Mr. Stark added. Loki didn't move.

"Loki!" A booming voice shouted from the other room. Thor. "Now!"

Loki looked at the girl a moment longer, threatening her with his eyes. Yet, she stood undaunted, a challenging brow rising. She wasn't afraid of him. Curious, he hadn't met a mortal that hadn't feared him at least slightly; well, exempting the Avengers, but they didn't count. But no one dared to slap him, not if they wished to live. Yet, she had managed to – _twice! _Curse the Allfather for making him so weak!

"Loki..." Captain America repeated lowly, daring the god to make a move toward Lizzie's demise. With a huff, the god of mischief turned on his heel, stomping away from the infuriating mortal.

Lizzie stood rooted in her place, wondering if that had just happened. "Yep, it did." Tony Stark said from a few feet away. She looked at him incredulously, "You're Lizzie Donovan aren't you?" she nodded, still unable to form words from the shock. "I told Emma that giving you higher clearance was a bad idea."

That snapped her out of it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I got lost. Jarvis was instructing me on how to get back to the elevator when I ran into... him." she replied.

"Yeah, well go get unlost, Puppy. You don't need to be wandering around here." Mr. Stark retorted, pointing in the directions of the elevators. "Go that way."

"Yes, sir." Lizzie walked down the hall, the doors of the elevator opened as she approached, allowing her just to in.

As the elevator descended back to her floor, she mentally kicked herself. She was brilliant, the top of her class, the assistant to the legal aid of Tony Stark!

And all she had managed to do was _slap _the bastard who tried to take over New York. Slapped! It probably hadn't even hurt him! She groaned as her mind then decided to go through all the other options she had before her. If only she'd thought of them then, she could have mentally thrown that bastard to wherever it was he came from.

Yet, she had not. That thought in mind, she made her way out of the building.

* * *

Now tell me what you think below, and if you guys like it I will continue it. If you don't like it, still review so that I can know what you don't like and make it better. Please?


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I Don't own anything which you recognize. I own Lizzie and her compadres only. **

**A/N: **Alright, after one follower and favorite - thank you **fangirloftheshire **for following, please review as I'd love to hear your insight. I figured I should probably update. Please leave reviews if you like it in any way, because I am getting a little discouraged. Please?

* * *

Loki was fuming sat down in Tony Stark's living room, purposefully ignoring the irritated looks thrown his way. He knew that they had all witnessed his little encounter with the mortal in the hallway, and knew they all had expected him to lash out, ready to defend her little life if need be. He snickered inwardly, wondering just how they would have reacted if he _had _actually given into impulse, but then he knew he would be back where he started; and that would be no good. After all, he had been allowed out of the Tower to 'help' the Midgardians... no need to muck that up before he could be 'reformed' and allowed to do as he wished. Yet, he vaguely wondered if he'd see the girl again, perhaps without the Avengers to protect her...

As everyone sat down, he did a headcount. Stark was there, a glass of whiskey to keep him company; Banner had come, but only as he held onto a young blonde's hand, whose blue eyes were watching Loki with interest as she spoke in a soothing voice to the Hulk's smaller personality. The Captain had also attended, his gaze continually flickering to the door where Loki knew a woman was, then back to him. It was obvious to him that the Captain was worried about her being in such close proximity to the god of mischief. He had to smile, it was endearing to watch.

He also noticed a certain couple of assassins missing. He couldn't be surprised, knowing that the Hawk and Widow were likely to wish to avoid him after what had happened. Understandably so, but still, it would have been interesting to see the two of them sending their most threatening glares his way – it wasn't as if they could hurt him. He touched his jaw gingerly, the place where the girl had slapped him was throbbing gently; perhaps they would be able to harm him. Either that or she was strong for her size.

"Well, Reindeer Games, now that we're all assembled, perhaps you can enlighten us to what Purple and Deadly can do?" Stark was the first to speak, sipping on his drink, his arc reactor no longer glowing underneath his shirt.

"'Purple and Deadly'?" Thor asked from Loki's right, causing him to chuckle at his 'brother's confusion.

"You know, Point Break. The Mad Greek... or whatever his name is." Tony replied.

Loki interjected, "Mad Titan." he said, "Though how do you know what he looks like?"

Tony shrugged, "I had Jarvis do a little research on your legends... speaking of, I never knew you were such a perverted bastard!"

"Beg your pardon?" Loki asked indignantly, he was unaware of any legends which were attributed to his sexual life.

"Seriously dude, you don't know?" Tony whistled lowly, "How drunk were you? I knew you were crazy, but that's an entirely new kind."

"What does he refer to brother?" Thor asked.

Loki shook his head, he wasn't sure how this conversation had gotten to such a topic. "If I understood half of Stark's comments, I'm afraid that would not be a good sign." he said.

Tony's eyebrow raised, "You don't have any mini-Loki's running around causing mayhem then? Well, they aren't exactly 'mini-Loki's... more like... some weird Asgardian/strange things." he replied.

"I most certainly do not! It would be improper in Asgard to have children that were not by marriage; and over the last few years I have been a little preoccupied to consider such a thing." Loki replied.

"Do you mean to tell me that the legends of Sleepnear... or whatever, are not true?"

"Sleipnir" Loki corrected, "Was a horse who my magic altered physically – it was an accident, as I was trying something which I had never done before."

Tony pretended to wipe sweat off his brow, "Whew, that's a relief. I was beginning to wonder just how kinky of a bastard you were." he said, "How about that wolf, Fen-"

"Tony!" Bruce suddenly shouted, a green tinge beginning to seep into his brown eyes. "Can we please get back topic?"

"Bruce, there's no reason to let him get the best of you." the blonde beside him murmured, holding his hand a little tighter, her other hand stroking his hair lovingly. "He's just being Tony, you can't expect his mind to work like it should. Its got a short in it."

"That hurts, it really does, Greenwich." Tony retorted, "Perhaps I should fire you for that statement."

"Even if you did, I'd be around you all the time." the woman replied evenly, ignoring her given nickname. "But Bruce has a point, we should get back to topic and then you can grill Loki on his sexual preferences later." Bruce turned toward her, breathing deeply as she began whispering in his ear.

Loki looked at the woman in a bit of awe; it seemed she had the ability to tame the beast which Loki knew was very capable of destroying anything. His gaze unwittingly went toward where he had been smashed into the floor by the Doctor's alter ego, wincing as he remembered the pain. He had to give her credit, she was brave to take on that.

"Bruce and Justine are right." the Captain said, "We should return to topic. Loki?"

Justine. Loki chuckled, it fit her well. "What is it you wish to know?" he asked.

"Everything." the Captain replied, "His fighting style. His mind, and way of thinking. What his motive is, etc."

Loki chuckled, looking over at a hopeful Thor. "Well, we're going to be here a while."

* * *

Lizzie always loved interacting with Emma's son, oftentimes her mind drifting to what it would be like if she had a kid of her own. His blue eyes were on everything, his little voice constantly asking questions as his blond hair fell messily in the way little boys do. His cheery attitude caused her to forget her earlier irritation with Mr. Tall-Dark-Handsome-and-Dangerous, making her just as cheerful as her little friend as she got him ice-cream.

It wasn't until they were in the shadow of Stark Tower that she remembered her earlier surliness, dragging her feet as she reached the elevator – she wasn't looking forward to returning to the scene of the crime, that was for sure. For a moment, she wondered what her seanmháthair would say to her. No doubt it would be along the lines of: 'What? I didn't raise a coward, did I? Stop stalling and do what you need to do!' ah, how she loved the woman.

"What's wrong Lizzie?" Andrew asked as they ascended the elevator shaft. He was quite insightful for his age, she had always known that, but she wasn't sure what had given her away this time.

"What makes you think something's wrong, Andy?" she asked, knowing that she was lying – and knowing he thought so too as he just looked at her. He was right, she was way too easy to read. Her foot was tapping a fast rhythm on the elevator floor, her nails caught between her teeth in her all-too-irritating habit which she had yet to break. To add to that, she kept sighing, her brown eyes darting to the numbers as they continued to ascend. _33...34...35...36...37... _it was torturous. She mapped out how it was going to go down in her head; quickly figuring out that it wouldn't take long this time to find Emma, drop Andrew and her things, find the elevator, and return to her floor. Five minutes, tops.

"Mommy says that people shouldn't lie... are you lying to me Lizzie?" Andrew asked, his little brain coming up with a sentence that Lizzie couldn't understand how he knew the meaning of his words.

"No... I'm just a little anxious." Lizzie replied.

"What's anksions?" Andy asked.

"Uh..." saved by the bell, the elevator doors opened, "Ask your mom." with that, Lizzie all-but ran to the room where Emma had been.

"Mommy!" little Andrew shouted when he spotted his mom, running in her direction.

Emma got up from her place on the sofa, catching him mid-air as he had literally thrown himself at her. "Hey kiddo, how was your day?"

Lizzie placed the bag of Emma's things on the floor as the boy began spouting off what he had done with his grandmother, concluding his ice-cream which Lizzie had gotten him. "I hope you don't mind, I thought he might like it as we took a little walk through the park."

"Nah, no problem." Emma replied, walking toward Lizzie, "Anxious to get out or something?" she asked as Lizzie had once more began tapping her foot.

The assistant looked toward the hallway, "I'm just... not too keen on meeting someone I met in Mr. Starks hallway earlier today." she said warily.

Emma nodded, looking down at her son, "You met the guest."

"How is he even here? Isn't he supposed to be in some jail somewhere up in the stars or something?" Lizzie asked, "Not down here strolling around Mr. Stark's apartment, glaring at guests as if he wanted to eat them whole."

"I doubt he could eat you whole, Lizzie. You're just overreacting." Emma replied.

"I'm not overreacting when it comes to the fact that the bastard tried to take over New York." Lizzie insisted, "How is he walking around without – at least – handcuffs?"

"Because he's a guest."

"How is he a guest? The guy is Hitler personified and godified." Lizzie retorted, "He deserves cyanide or something. Electric shock. Not Tony Stark's penthouse suite."

Emma shook her head, "Oh, Lizzie, you don't understand. I would tell you, except that I don't think Tony, or anyone else for that matter, would appreciate it. But I'll tell you this: he's an ally... for now."

"Ally?" Lizzie repeated, "Is that like when we took Nazi Germany's scientists and set them up here under the Odessa File?"

"Well, they did come up with good things. They put us on the moon." Emma reasoned.

"They killed several million Jews too. Just like Mr. Black-Narcissus destroyed half of Manhattan."

"Lizzie, some people deserve a second chance."

"Not him."

"You're taking this too personally." Emma replied, "You lost some people in the attack-"

"Let us not forget several months in the hospital." Lizzie added.

"And so you are taking his presence a little more seriously than you should." Emma finished.

Lizzie's brow arched, "Are you serious? Or are you just trying to convince yourself so that you don't wind up asking your super-soldier to just off the guy?"

Emma sighed, "Just try to understand, and in the meantime don't tell anyone." she said.

"Don't tell anyone?" Lizzie's voice betrayed her shock, "How am I supposed to keep something like that a secret?"

"You keep plenty of secrets, you can keep one more." Emma replied as the sounds of shouting came through an adjacent door.

Lizzie stared at the door, half of her wondering what was going on, and the other half wishing that someone would 'accidentally' snap the bastard in green's neck. "I'll be quiet." she finally said, "But don't expect me to like it."

Emma smiled at her, "Thanks kiddo. I don't just so that you know, but you're too good of an assistant to lose."

"I suppose that's a nice thing to hear?" Lizzie asked.

"It is."

The voices died down again, followed by a crash. "I better get out of here before it turns deadly." Lizzie said as she headed for the door.

"Yep, that would be good. I sincerely doubt that Mr. Stark would be happy to see you up here again so soon – not to mention you don't want to run into Loki."

Lizzie scoffed, "I still can't believe that bastard has a name."

"Lizzie." Emma's voice lowered.

"Sorry boss, I'll get going." Lizzie replied as another crash was heard.

Wasting no time, she got into the elevator and went down... hoping she wouldn't have to keep her mouth shut for long.

* * *

'_I spoke too soon.'_ Loki thought as he gingerly touched his jaw once more, watching Clint Barton be held back by Rogers and Thor; Agent Romanoff and Tony Stark standing by Justine just in case Dr. Banner lost control and she needed to get the woman out of the way. The archer was giving the strongmen a bit of a struggle as he used his smaller size against them, trying his hardest to head in Loki's direction. A bit of satisfaction thrumming through Hawkeye as he had been able to land one solid clock in the jaw before he'd been dragged off.

They had all been taken by surprise when the pair of assassins strode in while Loki was mid-sentence. A few tense minutes passed as Clint in narrowed his gaze upon the god of mischief, Natasha trying talk some logic into him before he simply walked up to Loki and hit him with everything he could. The table which had been smashed when Clint had managed to get the Captain off balance, now lay at Loki's feet in splinters. Yet, he had been instructed to just stay out of the way – as he would only make matters worse.

Banner's eyes were beginning to tinge green despite Justine's efforts, and Black Widow took her arm to gently lead her away from what might happen. Tony started talking to him, doing his best to calm him down from where he stood. Another crash could be heard as Thor had thrown Clint into one of the walls, quickly locking his arms in a tense grip.

"Clint! C'mon, think!" Steve finally managed to say as Thor helped to keep the Hawk still. Clint's blue eyes did not move from Loki's green, every ounce of hatred shining through them. "This isn't helping anyone, least of all you." Steve said.

"What is he doing here?" Clint replied, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "He should be locked up tight where he can't hurt anyone else on earth. Why is he here?" he repeated.

It was Thor who answered, "Midgard is under a threat, Loki knows more about our foe than anyone else."

Clint eyed Loki for a moment, the wheels in his head obviously turning as he tried to think through the red haze. "Does he have the scepter?"

"The Glowstick of Destiny is currently in SHIELD's hands." Tony supplied from Bruce's side, "Locked up somewhere where he couldn't get to it if he tried, its location known only to a few."

"Including you, no doubt." Justine quipped quickly.

"Not that it would do him any good." Thor added, "Loki's powers were stripped of him by the Allfather as part of his sentencing. He is no different than any other Asgardian,no magic."

Loki scoffed, he could probably still use the scepter if he wished – but considering he knew that Thanos wanted his head on a silver platter, and might try to use it to capture his mind for his own torturous devices; he didn't _want _to handle it. After all, he _had _been a failure in the Mad Titan's mind. His death would be something the that he was looking forward to.

Clint seemed to relax with that statement, and with a nod Steve and Thor let him go; still close by in case he was simply tricking them. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and began to right themselves to be back in their original positions, Loki nicely sandwiched between Thor and Steve as they were the only two people who wouldn't lash out physically. Steve because he wanted to simply end this conversation peacefully, with everyone's cards on the table; and Thor because... he was Thor.

"Now," Stark finally said, "Glad we got that out of our systems. Anyone else want to take a swing at Loki?" he looked around the room, but they all shook their heads. "No? Good, then all I suggest is that you keep at least a five foot distance from any of the non-hero females in the building, they're the most likely to smack you at this point." Loki rolled her eyes at the mention of the mortal's women, but kept his mouth shut. Tony cleared his throat, "Right, you were talking about just how dangerous this Mad Titan dude is. What he's capable of."

"The Chitauri invasion which I brought about would be nothing in comparison." Loki said, "The Mad Titan has many more at his disposal, and he won't be ordering everyone about by proxy. In fact-"

"Hold up." Tony interrupted, earning an irritated glance from Loki. "Proxy?"

"When Loki was trying to take over earth, he was somewhat under the influence of the Tesseract." Thor answered, "The scepter being the communicator between him and the Mad Titan's second-in-command."

Loki glared hard at his brother, not wishing to admit that he was the one who was being commanded. After all, _he _was the one who should be obeyed... not he to anyone else.

"So Voldemort here was under the Imperius Curse?" Stark asked in shock.

"I don't understand that reference." Thor said, looking over to Steve who just shook his head.

Justine was the one who informed the two of what it was, explaining how Voldemort was the main villian in a series of books. "But the Imperius Curse would be more like what Clint went through, Tony. Complete mental takeover." she added as a caveat.

"So Legolas got zapped by Voldie's Imperius, but Voldie wasn't really himself? Is that what I'm getting?" Tony asked Thor.

"No." Loki answered, completely understanding the reference. "I was in control of what I did. I just was given..."

"Orders?" Tony offered.

"Suggestions." Loki corrected.

Stark scoffed, taking a sip of his drink. "Orders. So you were Saruman huh?"

"I know that one!" Steve said excitedly, "Emma showed me that movie."

"Good for Atticus." Tony cheered as well, "So now you understand the Legolas bit with Clint here?"

Steve nodded, "I can see the reference."

"Do I look like a pointy-eared, long-haired, soft-spoken dude to you?" Clint muttered quietly, but Steve's enhanced hearing picked it up.

"No, but to call you Legolas is a compliment. At least Emma says so." Steve replied.

"Can we get back to topic?" Loki asked finally, "I'm telling you the seriousness of the situation, and you're pretending that I'm discussing a normal day. Can you take anything seriously, Stark?"

Tony smirked, "Its a very serious issue here, but if we all went too serious, we'd wind up like you. So..." Loki narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering just why it was he had agreed to come here and deal with these... lesser-thans. "You were saying? Before we got all caught up on you being under the Imperius Curse, but yet not."

Loki fought the urge to roll his eyes, settling instead on Thanos. "As I was saying: the Mad Titan is planning on using Midgard as a springboard to get to Asgard. If he has to rip a hole in space and time to land his ships, he will do so. Nothing will stop him, and definitely not a little atmospheric pressure, or a few well placed explosive arrows."

"And if he does that?" Justine piped in, "What then?"  
"He'll kill everyone in his path." Loki replied, somewhat happy that one person was actually listening to him. "I wanted to rule humankind, make them my subjects. But the Mad Titan has no desire for such a thing."

"What does he want?" Natasha asked.

"Ultimate power over the nine realms. Humankind would not be simply subjects, as he does not care for them in any form." Loki replied.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning... complete annihilation of the human race."

* * *

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Bella's voice broke through Lizzie's hazy cloud of irritation.

"Nothing much." Lizzie replied tersely, "Just an irritating guy at work."

Bella chuckled, "Since when are they _not _irritating?" she asked rhetorically, "Hey, can you tell seanmháthair I won't be home for dinner tonight?"  
Lizzie looked at her sister in confusion. "Why? What are you doing?"

"Well, I have a date." Bella replied, "I forgot about it until he sent me a little note attached to a bouquet of flowers telling me he was looking forward to it."

"Wow, I wish guys would let _me _know that they were looking forward to seeing me. My dates mostly just pick me up, drop me off, and we have a boring time in between." Lizzie replied.

"Maybe that's because you only dated the nerdy dudes, whose first love was Star Trek." Bella suggested, but Lizzie shook her head. "Or maybe its because there's an underlying understanding that you have no intention of continuing the relationship."

"Whatever do you mean by that?" Lizzie asked, pulling out her phone to distract herself from her sister.

"Quite simple. You and relationships have never gone well... and I think its because you're afraid of loving somebody." Bella said as they walked out to the curb.

Lizzie laughed, "Is that so? Maybe its because I simply have never met a man who can match me? Most of them are – as you said – their first love is Star Trek, or something similar. Whatever it was, it wasn't me." she said, waving down a cab.

"Frankly, I think you have unrealistic expectations of men. There's not a man alive who can live up to the image of your perfect man. Maybe mankind isn't enough for you? You want a guy who's a mixture of Adonis and Socrates, and one of those was a god." Bella retorted. The brunette froze at her wording, quickly thinking on how she had just met a 'god'... not that she would ever consider him as such.

The cab pulled to the curb. "Well, I refuse to lower my standards." she called as she opened the door.

"And if Mr. perfect-for-you doesn't exist?" Bella asked.

"Oh, he does. Maybe just not in this city." Lizzie replied, "I'll tell seanmháthair about your date. What time do you think you'll get back, so I can tell her not to wait up?"

Bella shrugged, "I have no idea. No later than twelve I think."

Lizzie raised her eyebrows but said nothing. "Hey lady! You gonna get in or what?" the cabbie shouted.

"See you later." Bella said as Lizzie got in, giving the driver the address. All the way home, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Bella was right.

Maybe she was being unrealistic.

* * *

Heimdall watched the interactions between Loki and the Avengers very carefully. It seemed that Asgard's fallen prince was handling himself well, considering he knew that Loki despised the mortals. Odin came up from behind him, looking in the direction of the bridge.

"How are they holding up?" the king asked. Heimdall shrugged.

"As good as can be supposed." the gatekeeper replied, "They are more accepting of this arrangement than we originally suspected. Only the archer has tried to attack Loki, but he has calmed considerably. The others are listening to him, and they are preparing for what might happen. Though, earlier he was forced to contain his temper."

"Oh? What happened?" Odin asked.

"Several things, but the first began when he was slapped by a mortal girl named Elizabeth. She is one of the Man of Iron's workers, who chanced Loki in the hall." Heimdall answered. "Had not the Avengers intervened, I know not what might have occurred."

"Then he is doing well." Odin muttered, "And the Mad Titan? What of him?"

Heimdall shifted his sight, focusing on the edge of the realms. "He is gathering his army. He is not ready to attack yet, but there is no doubt it will be soon." he sighed, "He has a spy, although he is cloaked to me, who is telling him of how Midgard is faring after Loki's attack. He is also garnering allies from some of the other realms... already Muspelheim has joined him."

"Is it possible that this fight will be Ragnarök?" Odin asked, looking at his gatekeeper in concern.

The other man shook his head. "Possible, yes. But to bring that about, it will include all of the nine realms."

A dark cloud passed over Odin's brow. "It is possible that to win this war, it will have to include them all." he said, "And even a few which have been lost to history."

"You speak of Aghartha? The Inner Realm? They have not been in communication for some time, Your Majesty. They have been blocked from my gaze for a thousand years." Heimdall said.

Odin nodded, "So they have. But perhaps this will bring them back into our fold as allies."

"If you think so." Heimdall replied as Odin walked away. He turned his gaze back to the Asgardian princes, watching as Thor and Loki settled in their rooms for the night. Yet the watchman would not sleep... for there was too much which would need to be seen.

* * *

Lizzie stood on her balcony, looking out on what she wished were the stars. After all, New York was not known for its star observation points. She missed Ireland slightly, remembering when she and Bella used to play the game of 'name the stars'. It had always been something which she loved, and now it was impossible to do. There were no stars in New York.

"Elizabeth?" seanmháthair called walking out to the balcony, "What are you doing out here?"

"Trying to adjust my eyes to the haze – then perhaps I might see something." she joked. "After all, now we know there is more than just us out there."

Kathleen smiled warmly, pulling Lizzie closer to herself for a hug. "Aye, so there is. Not that your ancestors didn't already know that." Lizzie snickered, "D'you miss Ireland, is that it?"

"I do, from a certain point of view. But we never really _lived _there... just kinda visited." Lizzie replied, "Seanmháthair, did mother like Ireland?"

Kathleen chuckled, "Your mother?" she repeated merrily, "Nah. She was more fond of Wales, and her homeland. She said that your father's accent often drove her to the brink of insanity."

Lizzie sighed, "I don't remember her much, you know. I'm worried I'll forget her entirely." she said, "Have you found those photographs yet?"

"Ack, girl you keep pestering me. When I find them, I'll let you know." Kathleen replied, "After all, most of your mothers things were burned up in that fire."

"I wonder what she'd think of us now." Lizzie said, looking up at the sky. "If she's up there watching, looking down in either approval or disapproval. Did she laugh when I slapped-" she stopped short, not wanting to put her seanmháthair in any kind of danger. She knew that no one was supposed to find out that Loki was back, but she didn't like hiding anything from Kathleen.

"I don't know, darling. Its possible in any case. Though, who'd you slap?" Kathleen asked.

"Nobody interesting. Just some guy that had the nerve to bump into me and then smirk haughtily I was momentarily shocked." she bit her lip, knowing that wasn't the best lie she had ever come up with.

Kathleen didn't think so either as she gave her granddaughter a rather harsh look. "Is that how I raised you? To slap a man who just managed to bump into you."

"Its a little more complicated than that. I would tell you, but I can't – on threat that I will be fired from my job."

"It wouldn't be Mr. Stark would it?" Kathleen asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lizzie laughed, "No, I wouldn't slap him in any case." she answered, "Its complicated seanmháthair."

Kathleen nodded, pulling Lizzie back inside. "Well, you should get to bed. Its getting late, and I don't want you sleeping in while the rest of the world is awake."

"Its Saturday."

"That doesn't mean that you should be lazy... now go." Kathleen shooed Lizzie upstairs, sitting down herself to wait up for Isabella to return.

Lizzie herself took a while to get to sleep, wondering just what was going on that would have the Avengers sworn enemy in the same building as themselves without killing him.

Something was obviously afoot... but she fell asleep before she could truly contemplate what.

* * *

_She ran. Trying to escape the devastation which was being wreaked everywhere she looked. The giant hole in the sky was still allowing the strange lizard-like creatures to land on the city, firing their strange weapons at any person they saw. It was like something out of a sci-fi film, and Lizzie was just waiting for someone to wake her up and tell her it was a dream... but it wasn't a dream. It was real._

_"__Bella!" she called through the streets surrounding Stark Tower, looking for the familiar head of blond to come bounding out of a corner. But she didn't see her. Bella was no where to be found. She looked up just as a letter of Stark Tower came crashing to earth, screaming as she narrowly avoided it. It was worse than the Twin Towers, it was worse than anything she had ever seen or experienced. What made it worse, was that she didn't know what to do. _

_"__Elizabeth!" she heard her voice be called from somewhere behind her, and turning around she could see Colin, her co-worker who flirted with her every chance he got. "Come on, lets get out of here!" he shouted over the sounds of a space-vehicle flying over their heads. _

_"__But what about Bella?" she said back, running down the street despite herself. _

_"__She's fine, Michael got her out. C'mon!" she looked down, wishing that just for once she would have work her Mary Janes instead of the heels which she sported. If any day was bad to wear heels, it was today. _

_The sounds of the fight got closer, and she could see cars flying as a guy in a red cape swung a hammer into them, smashing the invading aliens. She could see a guy dressed in stars and stripes next to him, hitting them with his shield, the object ricocheting back to him after it hit several of the aliens. She ducked as a blast of blue stuff – energy perhaps? – flew right past her head. _

_"__Stay behind me." Colin ordered, taking her hand to lead her out of the devastation. Looking up, she saw a man with a strange golden helmet fly past on one of the flying contraptions, his green cape fluttering behind him as he flew past them. Inwardly, she knew that he was responsible for it all, and hoped that the Avengers would get him. He deserved it. _

_A creature jumped in front of them, firing his weapon in their direction. Colin ducked, blocking her as best he could, but the edge of it hit him in the shoulder, sending him sprawling on the ground. It took aim at her, but went flying as another car headed toward the creature and threw it away from where it was. _

_Lizzie reached down, trying to get Colin up, completely numb to the fact that his blood was going all over her white shirt. He groaned as he got up, limping slightly as they continued on. The sound of something cracking above them caught Colin's attention first. "LIZZIE!" he shouted as he flung her to the ground a few feet away, looking back she watched as one of the creatures aimed at Colin again, this time hitting him in the chest. His eyes were the last thing she saw of him before he was blown backwards with a hole in his chest._

_She screamed as she suddenly found herself being thrown backwards by a rumbling explosion, her world going black as she felt pain spread through her back. Then she knew nothing._

* * *

She woke up in a cold sweat, her breathing hard and ragged as she looked at her clock. The numbers glared 2:24 am in red numbers, informing her she still had several hours of sleep. Laying back down, she tried to think of something else, praying she wouldn't wind back up in the nightmares.

* * *

Alright,I hope that I kept everyone in character. If I didn't, please let me know so I can remedy it. I am open to criticism, as long as its constructive. Please help me out here by at least leaving a review... its beginning to worry me that no one is responding.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, thank you guys for your reviews and follows. I was relieved to see that a few of you asking me to update this story. I'll reply to your reviews first, and then I'll put the chapter up - as I am told that's the procedure.

**Breannapierson:** Thanks for your review, it really made me happy to see your question. as for the answer: I haven't decided yet. There is a debate in my head about giving her powers or not, her past still kinda murky in my head, though a few points are clear. My wording was more metaphoric, though. Yes, they will end up a pair in the end. :) Haha, yeah, I liked that little fact too. I thought it would be cool if Loki had someone to prank with. :D A sense of camaraderie as they get to know each other through what they have in common. However, please tell me what you think of this chapter and the rest to follow - being as this is one of my first stories on Fanfic I am a little nervous. :D

**Lithia Sunset: **Hi :D Thanks for saying so. I do? Hmm.. I'll have to review it and fix those mistakes, thanks for telling me. :) As for your questions: ask away, I'll be glad to answer anything that you are wondering about I'll be happy to answer. Yay :D I was worried about keeping everyone in character, it is my one pet peeve: reading a story and seeing how they changed a character and pretend that its the same. I hope that I made Loki believable in this chapter, and please tell me if there is anything which should be revised. I probably need some help in that area. They did? Good, I'm glad to have made you laugh. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm looking forward to hearing from you. :D

**Am4444: **Thank you :D I'm glad you like it.

* * *

It wasn't until the following Tuesday that Lizzie found herself once more back in the penthouse, watching every corner she turned to make sure there was no Loki lurking.

Emma had called her that morning, announcing that she was going to need her to watch Andrew when she got in as she had a meeting with some top-secret organization which she was not allowed to tell her about. Not that Lizzie really wanted to know, she was never fond of cloak and dagger transactions, and was slightly worried that Emma was getting involved with such things... but Emma was a big girl, and she knew that any interference would be disliked.

So she dragged her feet on her way to work, not complaining when the traffic was bad, and took the stairs to the fourth floor before getting on the elevator and having Jarvis take her up. "Something wrong, Miss Elizabeth?" the AI asked.

Lizzie scoffed, "Nope, I'm just peachy." she said sarcastically, "Just woke up on the wrong side of the bed is all."

"Oh, I understand that. Mind you, I'm not sure why waking up on one side of a bed makes someone more saucy than usual; but I understand what you mean." Jarvis replied.

She had to laugh, "Yeah, I suppose you wouldn't know." she replied as the elevator stopped.

"I do hope you have a good day, Miss Elizabeth. I know you're probably not very happy with the situation to begin with, but I hope you know I'll keep you updated on anything you need to know." Jarvis informed.

"Thank you, Jarvis. I know." she replied, "Just point me in the direction of wherever Emma is at present."

"Of course, Miss Elizabeth." Jarvis said, giving her instructions. Lizzie followed them, grateful that the AI had made her avoid anywhere that she might run into a certain bastard. As she thought, Emma was running around her room trying to find her shoes.

"Hey there." she greeted, Emma flipped her hair out of her face, smiling in greeting. "Looking for something?"  
"My black heels, I know you brought them, but I can't find them at this point... ugh, I need to have Andrew clean his stuff up, this is getting a bit much." Emma replied, looking under the bed for what was probably the fourth time.

Looking in the corner, Lizzie found a pile of Andrews toys... a black heel sticking out. Smiling somewhat mischievously, she went and grabbed the heels, holding them in her hands. "Ahem." she caught Emma's attention, causing the older woman to roll her eyes at herself.

"What would I do without you?" she asked as she slipped them on.

"You'd lose your brain on a regular basis, boss." Lizzie replied, holding out Emma's jacket, which she slipped into. "Speaking of, I have a few proposals that I need you to go over. You want to do that later?"

"Later? Yes, I'm a little too scatterbrained to think of anything else." she replied, "What was that yiddish word for it?"

"Meshuga." Lizzie answered.

"Right... how do you know that again?"

"My mother was Jewish." a knock sounded at the door, and Lizzie went to answer it. Tony Stark stood on the other side.

"Oh, if it isn't the lost puppy." he greeted in his eccentric way.

"Mr. Stark." Lizzie replied.

"I'm coming Tony, just hold on." Emma called from inside.

"You better not say that in front of Pepper, she might get the wrong idea." Tony teased, watching with amusement as Lizzie's face flushed. "So you found your way up here alright?"

She nodded, "Yes sir."

"Good." he replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?"

"Elizabeth Donovan."

"You related to Bella Donovan?" he asked.

"She's my sister."

"That'll work." he looked past her as Emma ran back to the bed to grab her bag and went to the door. "Whew, that was a total of..." he looked at his watch, "Forty-five minutes when you said fifteen."

"Don't you know never to ask how long its going to take a woman? And if you do to multiply it by threes?" Emma asked rhetorically.

Tony smirked, "Maybe."

Emma rolled her brown eyes, turning back to Lizzie. "Alright, so Andrew is in the living room at the moment. Don't allow him to play his nintendo for any longer than an hour. There's dvds and a few board games which Tony got for him which are in there – they should be next to the couch – and as for lunch."  
"Just tell me where the kitchen is." Lizzie said. "I can make lunch."

"There probably isn't any food in the kitchen, is there?" Emma turned to Tony.

"Just tell Jarvis what you need, he'll take care of it." he answered, "We need to get going."

Emma nodded, "I should be back by one at the latest... if not... then put him to bed by eight."

"You're staying out till eight?" Lizzie asked surprised.

"You never know with who we're visiting, Puppy" Tony retorted, "Just prepare for the worst."  
Lizzie shrugged, "Alright..."

It wasn't long before Tony and Emma were descending in the elevator with Lizzie waving goodbye. "Oh crap!" Emma swore.

"What?" Tony asked concerned, "What did you forget? I'll have Happy get it to you."

"No, I didn't forget anything..." she moaned, "Lizzie doesn't know that Loki is still in the apartment."

Tony's eyes filled with mirth. "Oh, is that all? Jarvis, make sure Miss Donovan doesn't kill Reindeer Games – and if he gets close hurting her, let me know. Or better yet, just activate one of the bots and sic them on him."

"Yes, sir." Jarvis replied. "Do you want me to tell her that Prince Loki is in the apartment, sir?"  
"No need." Tony replied.

"You're not going to tell her?" Emma asked incredulously, "Tony!"

He chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure they'll be fine. Remember, she did slap him. Give the girl a little credit, she's got guts... question is whether that's a good thing with someone like her and someone like him."

"She's not going to be happy." Emma muttered.

"Well then she can slap me – or you can slap me – when we get back." Tony replied, "Jarvis, record anything that happens between Puppy and Reindeer Games okay?" he added as an afterthought, ignoring Emma's withering glare.

"As you wish, sir."

* * *

Lizzie looked around for a moment, the silence of the apartment somewhat deafening as she walked into the living room. Andrew was on the floor, playing with some toy trucks when she came in.

"Lizzie!" he shouted, running up to her and latching himself to her middle. "Are you going to babysit me today?"

"Yes I am, any objections." he shook his head vigorously, "Good, cause you have no one else to watch you in that case."

They soon settled themselves with a game of Chutes and Ladders, as Lizzie was not particularly fond of video games. After letting Andrew win one game, she then won one herself trying to teach him how to play and win for himself. An hour passed before Andrew loudly proclaimed he was hungry. Looking at the clock, Lizzie saw that it was time for a snack, and taking Andrew by the hand, she asked Jarvis where the kitchen was.

After making a few pb&j sandwiches, Andrew suddenly declared that he had something in his room that he wanted to get, and left Lizzie to clean up and start planning what to make for lunch. Jarvis was all too willing to get a shopping list together.

"Miss Elizabeth, may I recommend you leave the kitchen?" the AI suggested.

"Yeah, sure let me just finish this stuff up." she replied, as she made some extra sandwiches to take back into the living room. Turning toward the door, she found herself face to face with Loki.

"Well, well, well... what have we here?" he taunted, she narrowed her eyes as he walked forward. "I do believe I missed your name last time."

"Not that it matters to you." she grit out, hoping that Andrew wouldn't come back anytime soon.

Loki clucked, "Ooh, fiesty." however, he hadn't anticipated just how close he had come to her, and a loud smack was the sound which filled the room as his head spun yet again. His green eyes narrowed on her, "Tell me, is this little slapping ritual going to happen every time you see me?"

"Hopefully I'll never see you again." Lizzie retorted, "But considering that reality and expectation often clash, it is very likely that I _will _see you again. As for why I slap you? I'm sorry, has your brain forgotten that you _did _destroy half of Manhattan, affecting the lives of probably millions of people in one form or another; I consider it my duty to slap you for their sakes. After all, none of them will have the chance, and I do. Statistically speaking, that's several times an hour... so I have a lot of catching up to do."

His brows raised, he had to admit, he didn't think that would be her reply. He smirked, he liked her. Sure, she was mortal, and annoying; but he had to admire her spirit. He watched then as she went to slap him again, but this time he caught her hand. "Tell me, firebird, are none of the slaps for yourself?" he mused.

"If I could control fire, jackass, you would be ashes by this time. As for the question, the answer is that I slapped you for myself the first time." she spat, "Let me go."

"Why should I do that?"

"Because I don't want your murderous hands touching me."

"Why not? Surely you can't mind considering you've already slapped me thrice, and I'm sure would do it again. Is that not a form of touching?"

She laughed, "No, that is a form of venting frustration. Slapping is not touching."

"Could be. It depends on the context." his voice turned sultry.

"Eww... what is it between you and Stark?" she wailed, "Guys really do only think about that stuff."

His eyebrow raised, "I beg your pardon?"

"Not likely, snake, now let me go." she ordered.

Looking at her for a fraction longer, he let her go, crossing the room backwards with his hands up. "Distance to keep me from further injury."

She scoffed, "Yeah, well you should have thought of that before." she hissed, grabbing the plate of sandwiches. "Come near me again, and I swear to you, I will do more than slap."  
"Oh? And what makes you think you can?" he asked, enjoying her fire a bit.

She shook her head, throwing the dishes in the sink. "Because you're a man. You're more vulnerable."

"To what?" he asked.

With a smirk, she walked up to him, bring her knee right to where she'd strike. "Much more painful than a slap I've heard." he simply stared at her, watching as she turned back around and picked up the plates. Her eyes widened as she turned from him, surprised in her own sudden bravery – maybe it was bravado instead. Whatever it was, she needed to get her anger under control... that knife in the block looked too tempting to touch.

"You have a lot of gall mortal." he stated simply. She shrugged.

"Takes one to know one, I suppose. I hear you've got more ego than Narcissus. Somehow it wouldn't surprise me if you were in love with your own reflection." she replied, "But lets face it, you have no idea what to do with me."

He laughed, "Oh, I don't eh? I could snap your neck with my little finger. You're nothing to me _mortal._"

"Sure, sure." she replied, "But I think in some sick, twisted, perverted, masochistic way you enjoy the fact that I insist on slapping you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes... that is so." she mimicked his tone.

"This is truly fascinating." he said in slight awe, "You are here, having a conversation with me when you should be running in fear – but you don't fear me, do you?"

She scoffed, "Why should I?" she asked.

He laughed, "I thought you said that I had forgotten that I had tried to destroy New York? It seems you are the one with the faulty memory."

"_Au contrairemonamie, _I have not forgotten." she replied, "You just remind me of a child throwing an adult-sized temper tantrum... like every other tyrant out there. Trying to prove yourself in one way or another, to someone. Be it daddy, or your big brother, or something along those lines – I'm not a psychologist but I got the idea. You didn't feel loved as a child, and so you decided to rebel so that you could get attention... am I close?"

Loki's green eyes hardened, wondering how she had gotten so close without knowing anything. He stalked up to her, towering over her much smaller frame as he said: "That doesn't mean that I am not dangerous."

"I didn't say that." she quipped lightly, squashing whatever fear was rising up. She needed to be level headed, and to let him know that she was afraid would be a bad thing."I said I wasn't scared because you reminded me of a two year old. Those are two... very... different things."

"Then you are a fool." Loki spat.

Lizzie laughed, "Is that your elegant way of saying that you have no reply and I've – metaphorically speaking – hit the nail on the head?" she asked, wondering internally if she had completely lost her mind. She was talking to a criminal who was towering threateningly over her, one who was responsible for near-takeover of her planet, as if they were simply having a merry-hearted debate. She made a mental note to check her meds when she got home.

"No." he said simply, backing off slightly, "I simply do not wish to correct you at this time. Your immaturity has reached new depths, Milady."

She snorted, "My immaturity. Hmm... how kind of you." she picked up the plate of food and walked to the door of the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway "I'll be coming back at about twelve, do me a favor and keep out of the kitchen. Oh, and don't go near the living room, I'm there with my little charge for the day."

"Or what?"

She just smiled, "Or you underestimate my ability to make you sing my vocal range." and with that, she flounced out of the room, her nerves slightly frazzled with the fact that she had just talked to him without just screaming his ears off. Not that she didn't want to, she just wasn't sure what she'd say without taking one of Tony Stark's kitchen knives and stabbing him. "Jarvis, please inform me if he is in the kitchen when I go to make lunch. If he is, just order Chinese."

"Very good, Miss Elizabeth."

* * *

Meanwhile, Loki stood in the kitchen. His super-sensitive hearing picking up her statement and Jarvis' answer. _Elizabeth._ So that was the firebird's name. He had to chuckle, it suit her, and yet didn't. She was obviously hot tempered, but was polite about it, obviously wanting to do nothing more than to do something rather heinous to him – but keeping her emotions in check. He vaguely wondered if she had been in Manhattan when he tried to invade it, and if that was the source of her animosity. After all, he had met the woman named Emma a few days earlier, and she had not been so violent as to threaten him. But he knew she had not been in New York at the time...

"Prince Loki." Jarvis addressed him, and he had to smile – Stark may be rude, but at least he'd programmed his AI to be polite. "I must inform you that what Miss Donovan said is correct. The Avengers have made it clear that you are not allowed in the rooms where she will be, or I will have to inform Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff that you are somewhere off-limits."

Loki sighed and after getting an apple, he walked out of the room. Hearing laughter coming from the living room, he headed in that direction. "Prince Loki, I do believe I said-"

"I'm not going in." he said, just watching as the woman who had just been so forward, looking absolutely at ease with the blond boy in front of her. He exclaimed in victory, jumping up and dancing quite ridiculously around her before stooping down and throwing his arms around her neck to kiss her cheek.

Though he would never admit it to her, nor wanted to admit it to himself, he knew she had been right. Although he wanted to just end her life right there when she spoke of his supposed 'temper tantrum'. She would, in time, learn not to be so loose with her tongue. However, he would admit that he found her somewhat fascinating, and had – reluctantly so – since he had first met her. He had watched her eyes as she recognized her fear of him, and then overcame it – resulting in a slap. The girl whose name he didn't even know, usually he knew a woman a bit before she slapped him.

_Elizabeth Donovan. _That is what Jarvis had said. He chuckled to himself as he thought of how she'd react when he used her name next time. Though it probably wouldn't be very fun.

She didn't fear him now, he could see it in her eyes the first time she slapped him; and that was what made him stay the moment he'd seen her making her strange sandwiches. Yet, the fact that she was a different person when she was with the boy also made him curious. Was the threat an act? Did she put it up to make him leave her alone? If so, it wasn't working. In fact, it made him want to have her around a bit more...

She got up, walking over to Stark's audio center and putting something in. At that moment, some song began pumping out of the speakers, and they began dancing around together like small children. She was fascinating, but obviously was lacking in his eyes.

_Immature mortals._ He thought as he rolled his eyes at them before walking away. Oh yes, she was going to be interesting.

* * *

Thor landed on Tony's pad, stomping inside with a thunderstorm raging. It was infuriating what SHIELD was trying to do, their flippant attitudes something which made him want to simply destroy them. They were not doing this meeting for the good of Midgard, and were not taking the threat seriously enough. Had it been Asgard, every person of influence would be up in arms, ready to fight their foe... but these people just bickered, arguing that the Avengers were the cause of the whole mess.

As he passed through the living room, he briefly saw the woman who had slapped his brother. She was currently playing a game with the young son of the Captain's woman – even though the Captain would never admit that she was his. Upon his entrance, her brown eyes flickered up to him. She smiled, nodding slightly in his direction and he returned the favor, approaching the pair. She nudged the boy, pointing to Thor, watching as he stood up and ran to him.

"Thor! Is mommy coming home yet?" Andrew asked first, already warmed to the Asgardian over the last few days.

"What?" the woman exclaimed indignantly, "Am I not fun enough that you're so eager to get your mother back? Am I such a bore?"

Andrew rolled his blue eyes, "Lizzie, I didn't mean it like that. You know I like you."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "Mmhmm."

Thor turned to the woman with a smile, "I'm sure he doesn't mean it in that way, Lady Lizzie. He seemed to be having fun before I came in."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Just Lizzie, thanks – but if you insist on the whole 'lady' prefix then call me Elizabeth. Lady Lizzie is kinda awkward." she corrected, "But I know, I'm just messing with him."

"Very well, Lady Elizabeth." Thor replied, getting down to the boy's size as much as possible with his enormous height. "I'm sorry to say that your mother is probably not coming home for a while longer. In the meantime, I believe I disrupted a game that you and Lady Elizabeth were playing."

"Ack, its not a big deal. We were almost done anyways." Lizzie replied, "Would you like to join us... or..."

Thor smiled widely, "Thank you for your offer Lady Elizabeth, but I'm afraid I have a matter to discuss with my brother." he said, she took a sharp breath, nodding. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?... Oh, yeah totally."

"I am aware that you are not particularly fond of Loki. He hasn't bothered you at all today, has he?" he inquired, hoping that his brother had not tried to harm the woman.

She snickered, "Yeah... nah... he didn't... bother me much." she said vaguely, "Nothing to worry about, at any rate."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. Did he bother you, or did he not?" Thor repeated.

"He came and... talked to me in the kitchen when I went to get Andrews snack, but I haven't seen him since." Lizzie replied, telling Andrew to clean up the game and pick out a movie.

Thor nodded in understanding, "I only hope he has not offended you. Loki is not known for his first impressions, especially not as of late. If he does do anything which makes you uncomfortable, please do not hesitate to inform me." he told her.

A scoff slipped past her lips. "His being here is making me uncomfortable. I don't think there's anything you can do about that." she admitted.

He nodded, "I understand. There is probably very little I can do to make you feel at ease with him in the same room. I take it you were in the city when the Chitauri tried to invade?"

"The Chi-whatta?"

"Chitauri. The... aliens, I believe you call them." he replied.

"Ah, got it. Weird name." she muttered, "But yeah, I was. I was working that day, actually."

"I am sorry. I hope you did not lose anyone?"

"Nah, I haven't lost anyone for ten years." she replied.

"Just..." Thor tried to begin, "I hope you do not take Loki the way which he has presented himself. He was not always the way he is now."

She pursed her lips, "Oh? Was he not always a murdering sociopath?"

"No, Lady Elizabeth. He was not." Thor retorted, keeping himself from correcting how she spoke of Loki. If she was in Manhattan at the attack, she would not take his defense of his brother very kindly.

"Hmm... yet another thing to add to the list of strangeness." she replied as Andrew ran up to her, a dvd in his hands.

"Well, I shall leave you, Lady Elizabeth. May you have a good day." Thor announced, bowing slightly and walking out.

"Goodbye Thor, I hope to see you again sometime." Lizzie called as the door shut. Andrew suddenly began whining, "Alright, alright... lets put this in."

* * *

It wasn't until eight-thirty that Emma finally came back to the apartment to see Lizzie curled up on the couch asleep... Beauty and the Beast playing on Tony Stark's 60" screen. She watched the last scene as Lizzie slept, telling Jarvis to turn it off as the credits rolled. She then shook Lizzie awake.

"Lizzie... Lizzie..." the girl simply mumbled, "Elizabeth, wake up!"

Olive-toned lids snapped back as brown eyes widened in surprise. "What – where's the – why am I – ? Oh." she looked around the room, closing her eyes for just a moment longer. "Hello, you're back late."

"Sorry, the meeting didn't go as I expected." Emma replied, "How was watching Andrew?"

Lizzie smirked, "It went good. Your son is quite the little energizer bunny. He had me chasing him all over Bryant Park after lunch, I was exhausted by the end of it – as was he, he went to bed with very little protest." she said as she got up and stretched.

Emma looked around the room for a moment, trying to figure out what to say next. "So, uh... Tony didn't tell you, but there was someone here when we left –"

"Yeah, I saw him." Lizzie replied before Emma finished. "Conniving little bastard. Found me in the kitchen while I was making a snack. We had a little... _tête a tête._"

"Did it go well?" Emma asked nervously.

Lizzie chuckled, "You mean did I stab the guy? Nah. Though about it... resisted the impulse. Too much blood, didn't want the cleanup." she joked.  
Emma rolled her eyes, "God, Lizzie, you're a closet psycho, you know that?"

"Its just a joke, Lizzie... I had no thought of the blood."

"Stop it."

"Yes, ma'am." Lizzie swore, "Though I like the other guy. Mr. Tall-Buff-and-Blond."

"Thor?" Lizzie nodded, "Yeah, he's great. He's like a giant kid, likes to be friendly to everyone. Real sweetheart."

Lizzie's brown eyes filled with mischief, "Hmm... sounds like your description of a certain Captain... hmm... what was his name again?" Emma threw a pillow at her, causing Lizzie to stumble back a step.

"I'm married."  
"True. I would never condone a relationship, you know that. I just like to mess with you, you give a good reaction." Lizzie replied, "Well, I should probably head home before seanmhatháir begins wondering if I've been mugged."

After saying her goodbyes to Emma, Lizzie headed toward the elevator. As she waited for it to come up, she noticed a shadowy figure standing out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw the tail ends of a green coat disappear behind the corner.

The doors of the elevator opened, and she stepped inside.

* * *

When Pepper found Tony in their room later that evening, he was laughing at something which he had playing on his i-pad. "Pep, Pep, come here." he called, turning the screen so that she could see it.

The view was the kitchen, and she could easily see one of their houseguests towering over a young woman who was at their counter. "Who is that?" she asked him.

"Emma's assistant, just listen." he shushed, turning up the volume.

_"You just remind me of a child throwing an adult-sized temper tantrum..." _

_"__That doesn't mean that I am not dangerous."_

_"__I didn't say that. I said I wasn't scared because you reminded me of a two year old."  
_Tony started laughing again, watching as one of the other camera angles caught Loki's seething look. "Oh, oh, listen to this."

_"Oh, and don't go near the living room."_

_"__Or what?"_

_"You underestimate my ability to make you sing my vocal range  
_"I like this girl." Tony suddenly announced as he turned the screen back to himself and shut off the pad.

"Well, she's either really brave or really stupid." Pepper replied, "Who is she?"

"Emma's assistant. Lizzie I think is her name." Tony answered, "I'm almost glad I upped Puppy's security clearance."

"Who's?"

"Puppy. The girl. She got lost the first time she came here, so I named her 'Puppy'." Tony replied as he turned off the lights.

"Lets hope she doesn't decide to slap you for it." Pepper quipped, settling into bed as far away from Tony as possible.

"I don't think she will." Tony replied, "Pep, you don't have to worry about it."

"Tony, I don't want to burn you." Pepper replied softly.

Tony snuggled in anyways, ignoring her protests. "Don't worry hon. You have plenty of self control, besides I have Bruce and Blondie working on a remedy - well, as much as the two of them can work together without jumping each other's bones." Pepper smacked his thigh.

"Be nice."

"Never."

* * *

Well? I hope that went well. Please leave a review, it really boosts my morale and keeps me going :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything which you recognize, it all belongs to Marvel etc. I will not put this up again, as I am not fond of writing it. **

**Krikanalo:** Sorry I haven't responded to you earlier, but I'm glad you are liking the story thus far. :)

**MyLadyAssassin: **Thanks, I'm very glad to hear I'm doing well in both humor and keeping everyone in character. I have often been told that my sense of humor doesn't translate well, so that's something which I am nervous about; while using characters which are not my creation are something which always puts me on my toes. Delicate work to say the least. Well I hope you'll keep reviewing too :) I would like to hear what you think of the story. Looking forward to hearing from you.

**Lithia Sunset: **Hello again. :) okay, I'm a little confused... are you mentioning those points because I did well? or something else? I mean you said there was a good reason you pointed it out... so I was curious as to why? Haha, you love my muse :D Have to say that's very original. I just kinda come up with stuff and hope it flies. I'm so glad you like my humor, I try pretty hard. Though Tony is a little easier to just make funny... he's so... blunt. :D He's awesome in my opinion... but I like the Avengers overall. Hopefully he's okay in this little bit of this chapter, I was trying to get him being protective - and hope i did well. Hmm... I'll have to check out which parts specifically? I'll try to remedy it. I guess that when you envision it in your head, it sounds much, much different. HUZZAH :D The plot isn't holey... like Fred Weasley's ear. Well, I am looking forward to hearing from you as soon as you can. My nervousness I'm sure will dissipate over time. Hey, maybe you can check out my other stories, they correlate on this one... I'd like to hear what you think on those. :D

Also, thank you **coeurdentebre,LvCutaillus, and horsz913 **for following. Feel free to leave a review.

okay, so here's the next chapter. By the way, I changed the title to "The Prince and the Prankster" because I decided that the title didn't really fit the story - and I could use the title for another story which I'm considering writing... so yeah. :D

* * *

Another few days passed, and Lizzie crossed off yet another day as she was counting down to April 1st with anticipation and planning... and April 2nd with equal joy. Why April 2nd? Because that was her birthday, the day she turned twenty-one. It was a family joke, as her mother went into labor on the first – having Bella – and then continued in labor until the wee hours of the next morning – Lizzie was born then, as if to say 'you were just pranked'... it seemed to have stuck for the rest of her life. Going downstairs, went to have breakfast with her sister and seanmhatháir.

"Good morning." she greeted cheerfully as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, darlin. I hope you slept well." Kathleen responded as she finished up cooking the sausages and set a plate before the girls.

Lizzie sighed as she took a seat, "Eh, I slept well enough." she said looking at the clock – it was 6:45 and she still needed a shower. "How'd your date with... Nate go?"

"Daniel, actually." Bella retorted as she finished up an email on her phone. "It went well."

"Why'd I think his name was 'Nate'?" Lizzie asked herself aloud.

"Nate was three weeks ago. The pharmacist, remember." Bella replied, "I came home early."

Lizzie nodded, "Right... Honestly, Bells, how do you meet people like pharmacists? You don't even go to the drugstore."

"How did you meet that Colin lad?" Kathleen asked.

Brown eyes rolled upwards. "Seanmhatháir, I met him in college. We were studying the classic period together."

"Yeah, the classics. Alexander was a known homosexual, just so you know, so much so that he left no heirs of the Greek Empire."

"Yes, Bella I know that." Lizzie snapped through a bite of scrambled eggs.

"Then I can't believe you had no idea the guy was not at all in your sexual range." Bella said, "You should have known when he was staring at Michaelangelo's David for a little too long."

"Well, he looked and acted like any other guy." Lizzie reasoned.

Bella scoffed, "Except, of course, when he cross-dressed at that frat party. Honestly, that should have been a clue... unless you're in a closet yourself."

"Bells!" Lizzie shouted throwing a piece of toast at her sister. "I am completely and totally straight. I like guys too much to do that, I just haven't found one that is interesting enough."

"Oh, there's plenty of interesting guys out there." Bella replied, "You just like broken ones."

"Please, Bella. Who are you-?"

Their banter was disrupted by the telephone ringing. Seanmhatháir answered it. "Hello?... yes she's here, would you like me to get her?... alright... Elizabeth, the phone's for you." she handed her the handset.

"Hello?"

_"__Hey there Puppy." _Tony Stark's voice echoed over the line. _"You know, cellphones are there for anyone to get you on the line anywhere, anytime. They do you no good if they go straight to voicemail."_

"I'm sorry, sir, my phone is upstairs at the moment. I just woke up." Lizzie replied.

_"__Well, you should keep it on you." _Tony said, _"But that's not why I'm calling. Listen, we need you up at the apartments as soon as possible."_

"Oh? Why? What's up? Has your houseguest decided to start torturing cats or something?"

A chuckle could be heard on the other line, _"Trust me, if Rock of Ages tried anything, I wouldn't call you – though kudos for your little conversation the other day. You kept your cool pretty well." _

"Thanks, I guess. Though really I wonder if it was just a stupid idea to talk at all... unfortunately my meds have no psychotic side effects, so I can't blame them." Lizzie retorted with a crunch of toast.

_"__Well, I still congratulate you, Puppy." _Tony's voice got low, _"But all jokes aside, Emma just got some bad news. Garrett got blown up while on patrol yesterday afternoon... she's pretty broken up about it." _he said.

Lizzie froze, "Oh God, is he dead?" seanmhatháir and Bella looked up in questioning, but she just shook her head as if to say 'later'.

_"__I'm afraid so, they're sending him home in a casket... well, what's left of him, which isn't much. They knew off his dogtags who the carnage belonged to." _Tony answered, _"So Andrew's going to need someone to look after him while Emma goes through this. Mellow Yellow – uh, Justine has been with her ever since she found out; the Cap is currently getting her parents up here; Thor is off in New Mexico visiting his girlfriend; the Natasha has taken Legolas – sorry, Clint – to the gym to calm him down; and I'm afraid I'm a little too busy to take care of him." _

"I understand." Lizzie replied, "I'll be there as soon as possible, sir."

_"__Great, we'll be seeing you soon then?" _

"Yes, I'll be there soon." Lizzie replied, "Bye." she hung up. "Oh, man..." she sighed, looking up at her family. "Emma's husband just died over in Afghanistan, they need me to take care of Andrew."

Bella and Kathleen nodded, "I'll call a taxi." Kathleen said, "You two can go in together, I'm sure Bella can get some extra work done."

The girls nodded and finished their breakfast and got dressed, Lizzie jumping quickly in the shower to avoid embarrassment.

"The taxi's here!" Kathleen called up to the girls and they both descended the stairs. She had to laugh, they were dressed so differently; Bella dressed to work, and Lizzie dressed in something which could get dirty and she not complain. "Have fun, girls – oh, Lizzie, take this to Mrs. Langley." she handed her a box of her homemade cookies, "Tell her I send my regards."

Lizzie kissed her seanmhatháir on the cheek, "I will." she said, running out to the taxi and getting in.

* * *

Loki felt like hurting someone, just to vent off his frustration. His morning not turning out in any way what he expected. First he had slipped in the tub, giving himself a rather nasty bruise on the back of his head; followed by complications when getting his clothes on, as usual since he lost his magic; which then he found out that no one was making breakfast that morning, as he had woken up late; only to hear the Captain's woman was currently crying her eyes out, and could not contain her little brat.

The boy, once he caught sight of him, wouldn't leave him alone. "What's your name?" the boy asked.

"What does it matter to you?" Loki snapped, but the boy was persistent.

"Because, I'd like to know your name. I'm Andrew." Andrew replied, "Are you going to tell me your name?"

"No."

"Why not? Do you not like your name or something?" Andrew asked.

"It has nothing to do with that." Loki replied.

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't _have _to answer you." he was losing his patience, and wished that someone – anyone – would come take the boy away.

Andrew's little brown eyes narrowed, "Well _that's _rude of you." he stated, "Here I am, trying to be friendly, and you are just being mean."

"Am I indeed?"  
"Yeah... like Lizzie said: you need to have a time out!" Andrew practically shouted.

Loki raised an eyebrow, "She said that, did she?"

"She did. She said you were acting like I do when I don't get my nintendo." Andrew retorted. "Your mommy obviously didn't give you enough time outs when you were little."

His green eyes blazed at that. Of all the people of Loki's family, Frigga was the only one he wouldn't allow _anyone _to slander. He took a step forward "How dare you, you little-"

"Touch him, and you'll regret it." a feminine voice growled lowly from behind him, he spun around to see Lizzie's brown eyes sparking in fury as she glared him down.

"Lizzie!" Andrew shouted, running to the woman and throwing his arms around her waist. Her eyes didn't leave Loki's as she held onto the boy. "They're not letting me see Mommy, what's going on?" she broke eye contact to look down at Andrew.

"Mommy just needs some time alone, Andy." Lizzie replied, getting down to his height. Loki marveled how she seemed to flip a switch between him and the boy... anger vs. love. "I'm going to be with you for the rest of the day."

"Is mommy going to be okay?" Andrew asked.

Lizzie kissed his cheek, "Yeah, mommy's going to be fine." Lizzie replied, "Now take my bag to the living room, I'll join you in a moment."

"Okay." Andrew replied, carrying the bag to the other room.

Her eyes once more snapped up to Loki, a fire blazing within. "If I ever hear that you're terrorizing Andrew, then you will believe in the old saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'." she threatened, knowing in her mind there was probably no way she could _really _hurt him... but the threat sounded nice.

Loki smiled, "Stick to your wit, _Elizabeth_, you aren't very threatening. You're far too little." he chided, as if talking to a small child.

A brown eyebrow raised. "Why am I not surprised you found out my name?" she asked.

"Because you know that you truly are very little in comparison to me." Loki suggested.

"Is that so?" she asked, walking up to him a moment, she stared at him and he prepared to hold her if she decided to slap him again. He was getting tired of it. She smirked, "Then why is your hand twitching as if anticipating my strike? Obviously I am not so... little."

He looked down at her, noticing she didn't even come up to his chin. She truly was short. "On the contrary, you have no idea just how little you are. You remind me of a small dog, whose bark is worse than its bite." he said.

She laughed, and Loki had to admit she was quite nice looking when she smiled. "Touché." she said, "I take it that is your rebuttal for my little 'tantrum' statement from the other day?"

"A simple observation." he replied, "Your kind are simply too petty to consider just how small you are."

Lizzie considered him for another moment, wondering if she should slap him or walk away. However, her eyes caught a glimmer of something in his eyes, much like she had seen the first day she had slapped him... sadness. His words, his expression said one thing; his eyes spoke another. She sighed, she wouldn't slap him again. As much as she hated to admit it, it was getting old. "Well, _Loki..._" she paused, "Just remember that our kind were the ones who were responsible for your downfall, no matter how petty or little. So, you have to ask yourself just how mighty you really are? After all, you were defeated by the... _ants._"

"I am more powerful than you will ever be." he replied lowly.

She smiled, and shook her head. "Then you wouldn't be here, would you? You obviously have delusions of your own grandeur."

"And what makes you think that?" Loki asked, keeping himself from tossing her against the wall. She truly was irritating with all her little statements... yet, he found himself even more fascinated. She was a bold one.

"Nothing much, just... simple observation." with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, chiding herself as the statement had sounded so much better in her head.

Loki watched her go, chastising himself for liking their short little banter. She was mortal, he was Asgardian – well, not really, but that hardly mattered. He may not be Odin's son, but he was not Laufey's either. In all actuality, he belonged nowhere.

"You leave her alone." a voice hissed from behind him. He turned to see Clint at the end of the hallway, his eyes narrowed in a glare. "She's not like the rest of us, she can't protect herself."

"Protective of the girl, Barton? I wonder what Romanoff would say?" Clint ran up, tipping Loki back until the Asgardian was against the wall, a knife in Clint's hand.

"You have no idea what you did to her back when you went for all-glory, but I pulled her from its wreckage." Clint spat, "Natasha and I found her in a concrete coffin, and took her somewhere safe, not knowing whether she would live or die as she was rolled into the emergency room with a concussion and several broken bones."

_Concrete coffin? _Loki thought, perhaps what Elizabeth had gone through was worse than he had thought. "What does that matter to me?" he finally hissed back, ignoring the way the steel blade dug into his neck.

Clint smirked, "If you ever hurt her, I swear to you I will put an arrow somewhere that you can't catch it." he threatened, "That girl has gone through enough because of you, and while I cannot control whether she talks to you or not, I will warn you." he backed off, "Stay away from her."

Loki straightened out his jacket, a haughty sneer on his face. "You couldn't harm me if you tried." he spat. "Like I told Elizabeth, your bark is worse than your bite."

The assassin's blue eyes narrowed, and he went to throw himself at Loki again when a shout came down the hall. "Clint! Enough!" Natasha's sharp voice cut in, her arms crossed in perturbation. Tony stood at her side, appraising the situation with interest.

"Its okay, Legolas, he won't hurt Puppy." Tony added.

"You don't know that. He's capable of anything." Clint retorted, "You guys shouldn't allow him up here when she comes."

"What do I care over such a little mortal? She's nothing to me." Loki replied.

Clint's looked over to him, "Clint," Natasha warned, "Lets go. Tony will take care of Loki, and we'll get some restrictions on what floors he's allowed on while Lizzie is here." she looked at Tony.

"If something happens Loki is on lockdown." Tony replied, "He's not allowed where she is."

"He better not be." Clint retorted, moving slowly to follow Natasha back off of the floor.

Loki chuckled, "Quite amusing to watch how you all flutter over her, as if she's some damsel in distress."

Tony smirked, "Oh, I don't believe anything is going to happen. You're right, she's not all that dangerous." his dark eyes suddenly glared hard at Loki, "But if you ever hurt her, Lokes, I'll throw you out the window without any suit to catch you."

"I thought you said you weren't worried." Loki retorted.

"I'm not." Tony replied, "She can hold her own against you... mentally, and that gives her a credit against you. But physically, she's as helpless as Pepper – well, as Pepper _was._"

"She is a mere mortal, why would I care about her mental prowess? She's no match for mine anyways." Loki replied.

Tony smiled, "Well, for a mere mortal, she seems to keep you talking. That, and you have already lost in having the last word... twice now, Reindeer Games. You have some catching up to do if you want to go with that argument." he chuckled as Loki stiffened in wounded pride.

"What do you know, Stark?" Loki snapped.

"I'd like to think I know quite a bit... I mean, I am a genius." Tony replied as he brushed past Loki and into the other room.

The Asgardian stomped off to his room, wondering what it was about the girl that made the Avengers so protective of her. Clint and Tony were the last people to threaten him, as he had already been approached by Steve, and Bruce – Thor coming in the other day to warn him about angering the woman. Was she so special that she somehow was liked by them all? Or was it that they just didn't trust him?

* * *

An hour later, Emma's parents showed up, and Lizzie took Andrew to see them. Looking at the clock, she saw it was 8:45, and she decided that they all would probably like a nice lunch. The sound of a storm could be heard outside, and she wondered if Thor had anything to do with it... she didn't have to wonder long as the Thunderer landed on the landing pad of Stark Tower, a woman under his arm. They seemed to be arguing somewhat, but Lizzie wasn't particularly interested in the conversation – she was too busy contemplating lunch.

"You didn't even tell me!" the woman shouted, Lizzie turned around slightly, watching as the woman beside Thor tiraded, she couldn't help but wonder how this conversation was going to turn out. "You were on Earth, and you couldn't get a hold of me somehow? I know Tony Stark has telephones, its not like you were in Siberia!"

"Jane, I-"

"And then you just swoop down and bring me here! What if I didn't want to come?" Jane asked.

Thor's golden brow furrowed, "Why wouldn't you want to come?" he asked confusedly.

Lizzie shook her head with a smile as Jane threw her hands up in exasperation, stomping in front of Thor and rounding on him. "That's not the point." she spat.

The Asgardian looked thoroughly lost as his woman continued to rant, and Lizzie decided to leave the couple to deal with their problems by themselves. They didn't need her around to intervene, she sincerely doubted the petite brunette would approve. Therefore, she went to the kitchen, deciding to make some food.

"Okay, Jarvis... what do we have in the fridge that I can work with?"

Justine walked in several hours later, a tired smile on her face. "Its starting to smell good... what are you making?"

"Good old Irish stew." Lizzie answered.

"You're Irish right?" Justine replied, going to open the oven only to have Lizzie screech.

"Don't touch that! You'll make them fall!" she pushed Justine away, "And yes, I am Irish... what does that have to do with anything?"

"Just curious... you don't look Irish." Justine replied, pushing a blond lock out of her face.

Lizzie chuckled, "Yeah, I get that a lot. I think its my Jewish heritage." she said, "And I'm sorry I yelled at you... its just... popovers are very delicate things to cook. Like yorkshire pudding. Heavy footsteps or a draft will kill their rising."

Justine looked at her with a smirk, "Passionate about cooking are we?"

"Not particularly... but I'm insanely proud when I do cook." Lizzie retorted with a slight blush. "How've you been Miss Worthington?"

"Just Justine, thanks." the blonde replied, "I'm exhausted, quite frankly. My cousin is currently about to lose her mind because of what happened to Garrett... she's very fortunate to have Steve and Andrew around, they'll keep her on the ground I think."  
"Emma's strong. She'll be fine. Though, I have to say, I have never seen such a couple as she and Garrett since my grandparents. My grandfathers death nearly destroyed my grandmother, but she kept it together because of Bella and I." Lizzie said as she thickened the gravy in the stew.

"I agree... my parents don't have that relationship. Its hard for me to comprehend it, somewhat." Justine replied, "How about your parents?"

"Mine?" Lizzie repeated, "I don't know. My parents died when I was really young, like four or something. The house caught on fire, I have no idea how Bella and I made it out, but we did. We lived with my grandparents in Cork after that, until about twelve years ago when my grandfather died. Seanmhatháir moved us here."

"That's gotta be tough." Justine commented.

Lizzie shook her head, "Not really, I like it. I couldn't ask for a better childhood, I think." At that moment the timer went off, and Lizzie took her popovers out of the oven setting them on the stove. "Jarvis, please inform the rest of the household that lunch is ready."

"As you wish, Miss Elizabeth." Jarvis replied.

"Need some help setting the... counter?" Justine offered.

Lizzie smirked, "Sure." she replied, handing Justine the silverware.

"Miss Elizabeth, would you like me to inform Prince Loki that lunch is ready?" Jarvis asked.

She thought for a moment, taking the popovers out of the muffin cups. She didn't know how to answer the question. On one hand she didn't want to be around him... on the other... was she going to be heartless? Was she?

"Lizzie?" Justine's voice interrupted.

She looked up at Justine, over at the plates... she needed to answer now.

* * *

A floor below, Loki was trying to read a book on Norse Mythology, completely disgusted with some of the legends which had formed about him and Thor. He could now understand Tony's comments about his having children, and wondered if the Midgardians who had come up with these tales had been lunatics. After all, how is it possible for him to have children which were so completely opposite than he? Firstly, no reproductive system would work in that manner; secondly... he wasn't _that _perverse!

"Prince Loki?" Jarvis broke through his thoughts.

"Yes, Jarvis?" Loki replied tiredly.

"Pardon my intrusion, but lunch is ready." the AI replied.

Loki looked up where the voice was coming from, "Who made it? Hopefully not Stark."  
The AI seemed to chuckle, "No, Mr. Stark is quite inept in the kitchen, it could even be said he doesn't know how to boil water – except he knows the molecular formula to make it happen." Jarvis replied, "No, Miss Donovan made lunch, sir. And from what Prince Thor says, it is exceptional."

That piqued Loki's interest. Not that Thor thought it was 'exceptional', as Thor thought anything which filled his stomach was 'exceptional'; but that Elizabeth was actually cooking. "Who has asked me to come?" he asked, because if it was Thor he was going to decline.

"Miss Donovan, actually." the AI said, twisting the truth somewhat... no need to know that the AI suggested it.

Loki nodded, shutting his book and placing it on the bedside table, "I'll be right up." he said as he left his room to go to the elevator. As he ascended, he wished he had his magic, as he would have simply teleported himself to the kitchen... but he didn't, and therefore had no other choice than depend on the Midgardian technology.

When the elevator doors opened, he felt somewhat self-conscious... all eyes turned toward him.

Tony nodded in greeting. Steve was so focused on the petite brunette beside him, holding Andrew on his lap, all he could do was nod in Loki's direction.. Bruce tightened his hold on Justine, as she tried to keep him calm. Clint's fork was so tight in his hand that it began to bend, and Natasha tried to get him to 'knock it off'. There was a couple who Loki didn't recognize, but they looked at him in curiosity.

"There you are brother!" depend on Thor to greet him so loudly, "I was beginning to wonder if you'd decline the offer to join the feast."

"I wouldn't call this a feast, Thor." Loki retorted.

Elizabeth looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, then she laughed in Thor's direction. "Considering he's already had three bowlfuls, I think this is a feast for him." she replied, pulling a ladle-ful of some strange substance and putting it in the bowl, a small bread of some sort next to it.

Loki eyed the food, wondering just why he had bothered.

"Oh come on!" Lizzie exclaimed, "You don't know you don't like it until you taste it." A staring contest ensued, green eyes looking into brown. Finally she smirked, "Fine, I'm sure Thor will like it-"

"I haven't tried it yet." Loki interrupted stopping her from taking the bowl. Resisting the urge to gag, he took a bite.

"Well?" Lizzie prompted.

He looked up, "Its sufficient." he answered.

"Its excellent." Thor translated, "Loki is not one for giving compliments."

"I can speak for myself, thank you Thor." Loki snapped.

The Thunderer's booming laughter echoed in the room. "Ah, Loki, I have missed your remarks. Surely you do not wish to insult her? She has spent the last few hours making this meal – speaking of, is there a chance I could have another?"

"Are you actually asking, _brother_?" Loki asked, disbelief plain on his features.

"Of course!" Thor boomed, "I would not wish to anger Lady Elizabeth by giving her orders." he lowered his voice to a whisper, "I doubt she'd appreciate it."

Elizabeth laughed, "Just give me a sec – does anyone want seconds?" nobody answered affirmative. "Alright, then here you are." she replied, giving him another bowl. "I have to say, its been a while since someone has asked for more than seconds on my cooking... then again, my cousins live in Ireland so they can't ask for seconds. Its a high compliment."  
"And you deserve high compliments, Milady, your cooking is quite good." Thor praised.

"Its just stew." Loki threw in.

"Well its very good stew." Thor retorted.

Lizzie put her hands up, "Lets not get in an argument over it." she suggested, "Thor, do you mind taking this to Jane for me?"

The blonde Asgardian looked at her mid-bite. "Do you think that wise after – well you saw?"

Putting a bowl in front of him she nodded. "Coming from a woman, yes, I do. She needs to eat, and you need an opportunity to talk to her. Just tell her I sent you, and she can be angry with me." she encouraged.

Thor considered her for a moment, then got up and walked out of the room – bowl perched precariously in his hands.

Lizzie watched him go with a smile on her face. "Trouble in paradise?" Loki asked. She shook her head.

"She's upset because he didn't check in with her when he came to take care of you." Lizzie answered, "So, right now he's in the metaphoric dog house. I'm just trying to help."

"Why would you do that?" Loki asked.

She shrugged, pushing her fringe out of her eyes as she sat down in the place where Thor had been, a bowl of stew in her hands. "I'm a romantic at heart." she answered, "That, and I never liked long-lasting contention. Its bad for relationships."

Loki chuckled, "You Midgardians, you are so focused on love, you miss everything else." Lizzie paused, looking over at Loki with disdain. "What?"

"You are so focused on your bitterness, aren't you?" she asked, "Love is the most powerful thing in the universe, without it man is nothing."

"Sentiment is a foolish emotion." Loki spat. "Only for the weak minded and foolish."

"Is that what you believe?" Lizzie asked.

"Did I say it?"

"Saying and believing are two different things. You can say things and not believe them... its called lying. And from what I've heard, you're very skilled at that." she replied. "So my question is simple: do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do." Loki replied, looking down at his food before he looked back up.

There was a moment where she just stared at him, her brown eyes scanning his. "Then you lie to yourself." she finally said, getting up from her chair to move closer to Justine and Bruce.

Loki stayed in his spot, wondering how it was she always managed to have the last word.

* * *

Please review, as I am inspired by what people say on what they think. When I don't get reviews, I don't update - mostly because I'm worrying about whether the last chapter was so bad that no one would even review, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it better. So please, if you like it, review :D


	5. Chapter 5

**horsez913: **I'm glad you like it, and they will talk a little more as we progress. Just right now they are a bit on the 'I don't like you, but I actually do kinda like you' kick. :D

**MyLadyAssassin: **:D Well, you make me giggle, so we're even. :) I hope that your enjoyment of my humor continues, as I try my best to do it to its maximum. But it's so easy with Avengers, as they're all a group of wise-crackers, who like to be sarcastic. :) ESPECIALLY TONY. I LOVE the Irish, I am Welsh myself, but the Irish are an amazing group of people in my mind. So to incorporate their history is always fun - it also helps to build a character I think. History is very important. But the IRISH are amazing... and can I comment on how good looking they are? No? all right, I'll leave that comment be. :P Hahahahaha XD Loki is such a moron sometimes. He's not all that and a bag of chips, but he's SO damn determined to *be* all that and a bag of chips. :P Its like "dude, you're powerless, just... chill." but its gonna be a while before he does, I'm afraid. Well, because you asked, he got the last word in this chapter... sorta. I hope you enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you :)

God, I am seriously grooving on the immanency of Thor 2, and the added Loki scenes. Maybe one will be him getting a hug? ... I wish. Poor little Loki shit. That, and I am now totally shipping Tom Hiddleston and Emma Watson. They are adorable together...*Ahem* moving on. Forgive the lateness of the chapter, but ah... c'est la vie. :) I hope you all enjoy it, and please review... I exist on reviews. Also, shoutout to **Wyldcat13, Arvael, WritersUnite717, **and for following and favoriting. It was nice to see you guys. Alright, onward.

* * *

"I can't believe you're already doing this again." Pat muttered as Lizzie put the finishing touches on her newest prank the next day: sealing off Mr. Dale's office by putting a fake wall up. For all intents and purposes, it looked real; complete with a flowchart which – if you looked closely – showed how many times Lizzie had pranked Phillip, and their 'awesomeness' in comparison to his own.

Lizzie's brown eyes rolled upwards as she spread some more white paint on the particle board. "Tomorrow is April Fools. The ban will be null and void." she retorted.

Pat smirked. "Mrs. Langley could always ban you again." she warned, but Lizzie shook her head.

"According to sources, Mrs. Langley is currently on vacation. She is not to be bothered due to, what is known as, grief." Lizzie replied soberly, "She buries her husband tomorrow, and who knows when she'll be back. Besides, Phillip isn't so heartless as to bother her about a prank while she's dealing with being a widow."

"Are you attending the funeral?" Pat asked. Lizzie nodded, "Did you even know him?"

"Yeah, I met him a few times. He was a kinda cool guy – and I don't say that often. She's not going to be the same, that's for sure." Lizzie replied. "Its kinda hard to do this, actually, under the circumstances. She's up there crying her eyes out, and I'm down here trying to get a few laughs... God, I'm heartless."

Her companion shrugged, "You're coping." she answered, "Its perfectly normal for you to not know what else to do for her, so you do what you're comfortable with... in this case: pranking."

Lizzie scoffed, "You know what, Pat? You're probably right."

"Yeah, I know, its amazing sometimes what words of wisdom come pouring out of my mouth." Pat retorted, handing Lizzie a cloth to wipe up some residue that got on her pants. "But she's fortunate to have such good friends. I hear that Mr. Stark is giving her complete leave, for as long as she needs it." she said.

Lizzie nodded, "That he did. He knew Garrett, I think. From what I've heard, they had a pact between them, that Mr. Stark take care of her if something happened to him." she looked up, "Could you hand me that smaller brush?"

Pat passed her the object, "Well, I sincerely hope that she's going to be all right. I can't imagine if I lost my Henry, especially having a child so young."

"Well, like you said: she has good friends. That, and I think that she now has several males in her life who would be more than willing to play the male role in Andy's life." Lizzie said, "There, how does that look?" she asked, inspecting her work.

A laugh erupted from Pat, "I'll say this: I do not know how many people think of such crazy things as you do. How does Bella cope?" she asked.

Lizzie smirked, "She doesn't. Bella and my grandmother have immunity to my pranks. Seanmhatháir because she is never pleased when I play a prank on her, more willing to smack me over the head with a spoon; and Bella because I'm afraid of what she'll do in retaliation." she answered.

"Why? Is she like you in that regard?" Pat asked. "Something like in the movie Twins where DeVito burned his hand and Arnold felt it?"

"Not specifically. Pranks are not Bella's forte... unless riled up. She taught everyone in our family a long time ago not to play with her, as they wound up slightly embarrassed from her... ingenuity. I remember one time she stuck my phone in a waterproof container, and then stuck it in the big water jug which sustained the college students in the cafeteria. I started asking if anyone had seen my phone, and when the ringtone came from the water jug, I almost freaked. Needless to say, I never left my phone within her grasp again." Lizzie replied, deciding to just let the paint dry – and seeing as the term was not coined for nothing, she decided to go upstairs to check on dinner for the Avengers (who were still embroiled in deep discussions about things which she knew nothing of).

"Well, I think he'll be surprised at this." Pat finally said, "I don't know how many more things you could do to his office at this point, you've done twenty things already."

"Twenty-four." Lizzie corrected, "This makes twenty-five, which is one quarter of a hundred. I'm sure I could cook up something... I just don't know what yet."

"Where do you get all of your ideas?" Pat inquired

Lizzie shrugged, "At first it was the internet. Then I went to college and became friends with some pretty knowledgeable guys, then I came here and kinda modified what I already knew. This one is a classic." she said, "But, I think that this will be the last, and I'll go terrorize someone else – well, unless he decides he wants another round. At which point, I will be more than happy to oblige him."

Pat chuckled with a shake of her head, "Well, I hope he doesn't. I would like for there to be a week where he's not screaming 'Donovan' at the top of his lungs, while fussing over his crisp white shirt." she said, helping Lizzie pack up the paint supplies. "You going to finish this tonight, I take it?"

Lizzie affirmed that, and within a few moments, the women parted ways. Pat to go to dinner with her husband, and Lizzie to resume her position as babysitter... well, after she washed her hands.

* * *

When she arrived upstairs, she was surprised to find Thor's girlfriend, Jane, already in the kitchen, staring rather intently on the food she had in the oven. "Ahem." she cleared her throat, watching as the woman spun with a squeak.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there. What is that in there?" Jane apologized then asked, causing Lizzie to chuckle. She knew who the astrophysicist was, but had not really introduced herself.

"That's okay, I didn't expect you here either. As for what's in there, its lamb, so I hope you aren't a vegetarian. And I think now would be a good time to introduce myself." Lizzie said in quick succession, "Elizabeth Donovan... just call me Lizzie though."

"Jane told me you were the one who sent him with lunch yesterday, and I have to thank you for that. Sorry you had to witness my outburst when I arrived." Jane said.

Lizzie shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, no problem. I figured it would be a good thing for him to do, I don't like to see strains between couples. Its a bad sign." she answered, moving around Jane to look at the food in the oven.

"Doesn't Mr. Stark have a cook or something? Or is that your job?" Jane asked.

Lizzie laughed, "No – well, yes he does have a cook. No, that's not my job. I work for Emma Langley, who I think you met last night, as her assistant. I simply offered to cook since Tony's cook actually was coming down with something, and I figured I'd give him a break. Its funny, this is the closest thing I've had for a vacation in the two years I've worked here."

"What is it you do?" Jane asked as Lizzie went to the kitchen to get her something to drink.

"Ah, just lawyerly stuff I guess. I am a intern at the moment, and just act as Emma's liaison for most things, taking care of the minor stuff so she can focus on the major. Simple really." Lizzie answered as she poured Jane a glass of lemonade.

"Wow, you cook, you work, you make lemonade. I'm fortunate if I get one meal a day, and I don't necessarily make it." Jane marveled.

"I was raised by a old Irish grandmother. If I didn't cook at least twice a week growing up, as well as do my chores, then I'd wind up missing out of most of her goodies – which, if you know my grandmother, are the best goodies you'll ever have." Lizzie replied sipping from her own cup. "So what is it you do? I heard you are some kind of a physicist?"

"Astrophysicist. I study – or rather theorize – on what goes on beyond our atmosphere. Its like astronomy, except I'm working more with what 'might' be instead of what I see." Jane explained, "Or something like that. I hope that made sense?"  
Lizzie nodded. "How ironic you're with a guy who is from that 'beyond the atmosphere' thing. He's living proof of what you theorize." she said.

Jane laughed, "Yeah, he proved to me that what I was looking for wasn't just a waste of time." she said, her eyes growing hazy a moment as a small smile lingered on her lips.

Lizzie chuckled, heading to the cabinet for some ingredients. Hopefully Jarvis had managed to get the mint jelly she'd asked for.

"Hey Jane, did you find out what that marvelous smell is?" a new voice came from the doorway. Lizzie turned to see another woman who she hadn't seen that morning, with large blue eyes behind the glasses which she wore. "Oh, hey... yet another person who I didn't see when I arrived." she said.

"Darcy, this is Lizzie. Lizzie, this is my friend, Darcy Lewis." Jane introduced.

"Nice to meet you Lizzie, I hope you're the cook in this establishment. The guys aren't very promising as I watched them. So what are you, like the only woman in the place?" Darcy asked.

Lizzie smiled, "Pleasure. Yes, I am the temporary cook, until the actual cook gets over his cold. As for the women, there are a few of us, but they're mostly keeping to themselves at present. Emma, who I'm assuming you didn't meet yet, her husband just died. Justine is with her, as she is her cousin. And Pepper is at a meeting in Chicago. So it seems I'm the only female besides yourselves, I suppose." she answered.

Darcy raised an eyebrow, "So there are a few of you Avenger women. Who are you with?"

"Sorry?" Lizzie wasn't sure that Darcy meant what she thought, but hoped that she didn't.

"Who are you with? Like Jane is with Thor; I know Pepper is with Stark; I heard the doctor guy mention a 'Justine', so I'm assuming they're together. The red-head and the short guy seemed close. So who are you with?" Darcy clarified.

Lizzie laughed nervously for a moment, somewhat disbelieving that someone actually thought she was 'with' someone. "I'm not 'with' anyone. I'm here to just help out." she finally answered.

Darcy beamed, moving closer. "Well then, similarly-situated-single-sister, I think we'll get along."

"Did you choose those words because they all started with 'si'?" Lizzie asked. Darcy nodded, congratulating her on picking up on it.

A moment later, Jane excused herself and left Lizzie and Darcy alone. "How ironic is it that your name is Lizzie and mine is Darcy?" Darcy asked.

Lizzie looked over at her, "Uh... because of Pride and Prejudice?"  
"Yes!" Darcy exclaimed, "Its like some cheesy novel where all the characters have similar names or something, and its obvious that the writer had no imagination."

"Well, I guess I can see it." Lizzie answered.

"So how old are you _Elizabeth_?" Darcy asked, her tone taking on a posh flair.

"Twenty-one tomorrow."

"Aww... you're a baby." Darcy cooed.

Lizzie's brow eyebrow raised, "Baby? You can't be more than twenty-five." she drawled.

"Twenty-five on the nose, actually. You're good." Darcy corrected, "So what can I do to help? I'm a decent enough cook myself."

Together, the two women began working.

* * *

"ENOUGH!" Thor boomed, slamming his hand on the table which they were using. "Must you continue squabbling over nothing, Man of Iron? Loki says we need to get everyone we can together, and that includes all the mutants in the area – if possible."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I refuse to work with people with attitude issues. And if you have ever met the Fantastic Four, you would know that Johnny Storm has an ego comparable with you Asgardians." he said.

"I thought you liked Dr. Richards?" Bruce said from his spot on the couch.

"I do, but even the Capsicle had a problem with Johnny when he met him. Well, as much of a problem as you can have after you get over the fact that the guy looks exactly like you." Tony added as an afterthought.

Steve grimaced, "We're nothing alike." he said.

"Are you sure you never slept around back before you became a Capsicle? Spread a few of the Roger genes around?" Tony teased, watching as Steve just sighed.

"I assure you, Stark, not all men were like your father in the day." Steve retorted, watching as Tony shrugged. "Some of us had morals."

"Hey, I may not like my dad, but he did make you that shield of yours – not that I can't improve it." Tony said.

"So it is because of this one, Johnny Storm that you refuse to unite ourselves with a group who could help us?" Thor interrupted, "It is so petty. You all will have to unite at one point or another, to defeat this foe. How can you fight him when you are all squabbling how you don't like this person or that one?"

"We will manage without the group of radiated mutants – no offense Bruce." Tony said.

Bruce just shook his head, "None taken. Though I don't mind working with them. I like Dr. Richards, myself, and as for Johnny..."

"I say we don't worry about him." Natasha spoke for the first time. "We need the others – and hey, maybe Storm can help us in some way."

"Thor is right, Tony," Bruce continued, "We have to ask Reed and his team to help us. Despite Johnny."

Steve shrugged, "I may not like him, but I think he's probably useful as a member of the team. If he can pull his own weight, that is." he said.

"Then it is agreed that this group will be joining us?" Thor asked.

"I don't agree." Tony insisted.

"Well, you're outnumbered, Stark." Clint interjected, "The rest of us say 'yes'."

"Why am I not part of this little vote? I have as much say, if not more, as this is my ho-"

"Stark!" Loki finally shouted, "You're going to need all the help you can get. If these four people can help, you better hope they agree to do it, because the Avengers will not be able to handle them on their own! I was a picnic in comparison – if you had been listening to what I've been saying over the last few days, you'd know this."

Tony paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. Do you know how many women are in this building? Fireboy is a bad idea no matter how you slice it."

"I'm sure the women will manage." Loki retorted, "If he can help you, you're better off."

"I agree with my brother." Thor boomed, "Someone should call these Fantastic Four, have them apart of these meetings."

"Absolutely not." Tony swore, "I won't have-"

"Tony." Bruce snapped, "They're coming whether you like it or not."

A pout formed on Tony Stark's face, "Well I don't like it." he said, getting up to pour himself another drink, "You're all very ungrateful."

"Mr. Stark, might I inform you that Miss Elizabeth is outside the door trying to get in." Jarvis' voice echoed.

"Is she lost again?" Tony asked, heading for the door.

"No, sir, she wishes to bring you all some refreshments." Jarvis answered as the door opened to reveal a somewhat awkward Lizzie. A tray was balanced in her hands, several glasses with ice in them, two pitchers of what looked like lemonade and iced tea.

"Hi." she finally said, "I was trying to knock, but I'm not particularly coordinated."

Tony smirked, "Well, what puppy is?" he quipped, "Come in Prankster. Oh, by the way, did you get that particle board up and covered?" she looked at him in a mixture of incredulity and irritation. Loki looked up too, originally thinking that Stark was referring to himself – surprised to find that it was Lizzie he spoke to. His eyebrow rose. She was a prankster?

"Yeah, I did." she said as Clint got up to help her with the tray, setting it down on the coffee table. "Dale won't know what hit him."

"Sure he will. Its called a wall." Tony quipped. "Though it will be more of _him _hitting _it._"

"Whole new meaning to 'banging your head against a wall' I suppose." Lizzie replied dryly, "Okay, who wants what?"

Loki watched her as she doled out the drinks, handing them to each of the Avengers. He couldn't help but find her interaction with them rather interesting – despite the fact that his mind was screaming that he shouldn't find a mortal interesting. She was beneath him, a thing to be ruled, not studied. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder why she found Tony's attitude something to chuckle at; or why she shared a smile with the assassins; or her blush when she handed a drink to the resident beast. Though why she outright laughed at Thor was understandable, he seemed to have a charisma to him. Loki scowled. She was just like everyone else. Falling at his brother's feet at a smile. _Mortals. _

"Loki?" Thor's voice broke through him, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, Voldie, you look like the very idea of Lizzie's lemonade is worth vomiting over." Tony interjected. Lizzie's brown eyes darted toward the billionaire. "I wasn't saying that's what I thought." he defended.

Loki shook his head. "You should keep to your toys, Stark. You understand them more than a thinking being. Probably because you don't understand how to think."

Tony's eyebrow rose, "That particular topic is still up for debate." he said.

The Asgardian reached up for the glass, his eyes caught a scar on the inside of her forearm, running from her wrist to a few inches above. Green eyes caught brown as she suddenly jerked away, yanking her three-quarter-length sleeves down in an effort to cover it. She was hiding something, but he wasn't sure what. "All right, well dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes, so if you want to eat, start heading down" Lizzie said as she gathered the tray, careful not to show her scar to Loki again, and headed for the door.

The group murmured their agreement that they would be there, and continued with the topic.

But Loki's mind lingered on the scar, and for the first time he wondered if there was more to the girl than met the eye.

* * *

Dinner was a simple affair, as it had been for the last few days. The group of Avengers all swooped in, Thor eating enough for four people instead of one, showering Lizzie with praises; and Loki liking the food but saying very little about it. He had noticed that Lizzie had not been as forthcoming in slapping him as before, nor in her conversation. Not that he was particularly interested in beginning a conversation with the little mortal, but he did enjoy her spars – however dull they were.

Today, however, she seemed to be avoiding him more than usual, opting to speak with Thor's mortal woman or her friend instead. A rather foolish thing on her behalf, in his opinion, as the other Midgardian woman seemed to have no sense at all, her ramblings rather irritating to listen to. It was like listening to Fandral rave about his numerous conquests, and wishing he would simply shut up. As it turned out, they were discussing the Midgardian thing which Thor still was questioning about: films. Disney films to be exact.

"Are you kidding?" Darcy exclaimed, "You speak blasphemy of the Disney princesses with your words, Miss Donovan. You should be hanged and quartered. Or made into a villain by the sea witch."

Lizzie scoffed, "Please. I sincerely doubt you liked Aurora or Snow White growing up. You seem to have taken after Megara if you want my honest opinion. I can just hear you saying 'Megara. My friends call me 'Meg'. Or at least they would if I had any friends.'" she said, laughing at her own joke. Loki had no idea what she was saying, but assumed that it was a tease.

Darcy rolled her eyes, "Are you saying I have no friends, Miss There's-More-Than-This-Provincial-Life?"

"Do not diss Belle." Lizzie warned lowly, "She is the best princess Disney ever came up with. She's sassy, and sweet all at once. Of all of the princesses, I think she's the only one who could have taken on the beast without screaming out for their Prince Charmings. Besides, Belle and the Beast actually had conversations, the others just kinda looked pretty and let the guys do all the work."

"Touchy much?" Darcy retorted with a laugh.

"Over Belle? Yes." Lizzie replied. "My grandmother used to joke that she wound up my rold model."

It was at that moment that Justine came in, putting her bowl in the dishwasher, effectively causing Darcy to turn her attention to Justine instead as she asked what it was like to date the doctor. Loki watched as Lizzie rolled her eyes and returned to her meal.

"Arguing over a character, Elizabeth?" Loki clucked his tongue, "How disappointing that you can't find more of a match of mind."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "Sometimes I want to take a vacation. Dealing with jerks like you tend to be a bit tiring." she retorted. "Why does it matter to you anyways? I'm just a thorn in your side... or a sting in your cheek." she smirked.

Loki chuckled, rubbing his cheek. "That you are. But I doubt you find such trivial conversation very interesting. You argue for the sake of arguing, nothing more."

"You assume to know me." Lizzie replied, "Tell me, oh wise sage, how did you come to that conclusion?"

"You really wish to know?" Loki asked, "Because I'm sure you won't like the answer."  
"How do I know I won't like it if I don't try it?" she asked flippantly.

He smiled, "You don't believe in that phrase. Why use it?" he asked.

Her brown eyes looked at him quizzically, "What makes you think I don't believe that phrase?"  
"Your tone." he answered simply, "Besides, I am the god of lies."

She scoffed, "Only in your mind, my egotistical jackass." she replied, "Or perhaps I should say you're bullheaded in your ego."

Loki smirked, knowing exactly that she was referring to his helmet. "That does not change that you cannot lie to me."

She tilted her head, "Hmm... I doubt that. Though it might be interesting to see you play a game of bullshit." she muttered the last bit to herself.

"I'm sorry, what kind of a game is that?" Loki asked, wondering what new levels of immaturity the human mind could come up with.

It was Darcy who answered. "Bullshit is a game designed for liars. Basically its a way to lie and get away with it, laughing the entire way." she said, looking over Loki with a critical gaze. "Right up your alley, eh Mr. Kneel-Bitches."

Lizzie snorted, suddenly coughing as her mint jelly wound up in her trachea. Loki simply glared at the other woman as she started pounding on Lizzie's back in an effort to alleviate the choking. "I'm surprised you don't spend more time with Stark." he said sarcastically, "You two would get along splendidly."

"Why? Because we are both blunt in what we think of you?" Darcy asked, "Of course. What's the point of tiptoeing? What's the worst you can do?"

"Kill you." Loki retorted.

Darcy scoffed and Lizzie joined her in chuckling. "You could try." the political science major replied. "Though I doubt you'd want to anger Mr. All-Powerful up in skyland. I hear he's not very pleased with you. Not that you care, I suppose, I hear your daddy issues are pretty intense."

Loki's eyes flickered between the two women, noticing that Lizzie's face suddenly sobered, a pensive look upon her features. "The All-Father could hardly matter to me." Loki said lowly, "I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself, little mortal, no one wishes to hear them."

"Darcy, can you help me for a minute?" Jane called from across the room, and Darcy left Lizzie and Loki alone. His green eyes watched the woman for a moment.

"Watch it Loki." Lizzie warned after gathering her thoughts, "She is a guest here. I'd hate to have to slap you again."

He smirked, "Well, Elizabeth, considering that is all you can do – I'm not very afraid. After all, you're obviously not as strong as you pretend." he said with a pointed glance at her arm. She quickly moved to cover it up.

"You know nothing, Loki. Do me a favor and... 'Keep your thoughts to yourself, little 'g' god – no one wishes to hear them'." Lizzie spat.

This only caused Loki to smile wider, "Have I finally made you unable to retort smartly, Elizabeth? Resorting to jabs instead? How mature of you." he asked.

"No, you just cheat." she said. "My business is my business, and if I'm not to proud to display something like a scar, then leave it be. I can make that decision."

"Really? Or is it that you're afraid to acknowledge that you truly are weak?" he asked.

Lizzie scoffed, "Pinning your own self-condemnation upon me? That's not very confrontive of you." she retorted, looking in Darcy's direction. "So I was right, eh? You have daddy issues?"

"That is none of your concern... as you said: my business is my business." he repeated. "Clever though how you moved the conversation from you to me. I commend you, not many people can do it that smoothly."

Her brows furrowed, "Are you complimenting me?" she asked.

"Perhaps." he said, "Perhaps not."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." she replied, "Though I must ask: why is my scar so interesting to you?"

"It reminds me of how little you are. Just how insignificant if someone can mar you in such a manner. No wonder they all fawn over you, you're so helpless." he said with a smile on his face.

"I'm not helpless." she replied smoothly.

Loki leaned closer, "Then you lie to yourself." he repeated her words from the day before, standing up and walking away before she could reply.

Lizzie watched him go with a shake of her head, "You just used my line. Cheater." she said to his retreating back. Looking around, she decided to go outside.

She needed some fresh air... well, as fresh as you could get in New York City.

* * *

"Lady Elizabeth?" Thor's voice called as softly as possible, not really wishing to disturb her as she watched the sunset across the city. The haze caused quite a bit of a problem to see clearly, the hues obscured and blurring into only a few.

"You know, I used to watch the sunset with my grandfather when I was a kid, we then used to just watch the stars come out. I never really thought about something being up there." she said to him as he moved to stand beside her. "Now that I know there is, now that I have living proof, I still find it impossible to believe. Is that ridiculous or what?"

He shook his head, "Not necessarily." he replied, "You have lived your whole life believing something about your world which wasn't true. Its hard to comprehend that after all these years everything you knew was a lie."

She sighed, "Was he always like this?" she asked softly, "Loki I mean."

"No. My brother also had to deal with what you are struggling to understand. He lived his life believing a lie. Although I know not what happened to my brother to make him how he is, he was not always so, that I can attest to." Thor replied, "He was raised to believe he was my brother, as was I to believe it of him. When I was banished to Midgard – forgive me, you call it Earth – my brother found out that he was not a son of Odin as he had been raised to think. He was the son of one of our most hated enemies, and a being which was a villain for a millennia. He thought himself a monster, from my father's account, and has fought ever since to prove to himself."

"Hence why he tried to take over Earth – or Midgard?" Lizzie concluded, "So Darcy was right, he does have daddy issues."

"His issue is indeed with my father, as he blames him for treating him different. Apparently my brother was always considered second best – and I did not even see it." Thor chided himself, "I was too busy being the hero of Asgard, I did not notice my own brother falling further and further into an abyss until – well, he fell into an abyss."

Lizzie nodded, and both were silent for a moment. "Why did he agree to come here?" she asked.

Thor chuckled, "Loki is advantageous if anything. His time in the Tower of Solitude is not to be envied. That, and I think that in many ways he is still the brother I grew up with, willing to help me."

"What if he isn't?" Lizzie asked, "What if he's just biding his time?"  
"He may be, but I think there is still hope for him." he replied, watching as the sunset through the haze. It wasn't as beautiful as he'd seen in New Mexico, but it was somewhat nice to watch.

"What hope? The man is a lunatic." Lizzie hissed. "An egotistical lunatic with a understandable past, but a lunatic all the same. Its like dealing with a more dangerous version of Hitler... in fact I think Hitler had issues with his familial ties as well."

"You do not know him, Lady Elizabeth." Thor said, shaking his head lightly, "Loki is used to others hating him. He does not know how to act normally, I'm afraid. He spent all his time believing that my parents didn't love him when they did, choosing to focus on the bad rather than the good. But that is Loki. Do not hate him, Milady, there is a bit of my brother in there somewhere, he just needs someone to see it. Do not judge him harshly, Lady Elizabeth." Thor pleaded, "He may yet change."  
"I'm not sure I can do that." she replied, "He is responsible for my two month stay in a hospital, seeking rehabilitation after being buried under concrete." she paused a moment, "He's very fortunate he has you. I don't think that many here would be so forgiving of him." Lizzie replied with a smile.

Thor nodded, "I know. I just wish he'd realize it. Then perhaps he would return to being the Loki I knew."  
"If he's what you say he is, then he will." she said.

"Hey!" Tony shouted from the doorway, "You two better get back in here. You don't want the astrophysicist thinking there's something going on between you two."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but followed instructions as the two of them went back inside. He had given her a lot to think about.

* * *

Well? What thinkest thou? Please review down below.


	6. Chapter 6

**koryandrs: **Glad you think so... and I certainly hope I am. :D I'm working hard, that's for sure. Every aspect of Lizzie is going to be written down. :)

**Shintsuki Hatake: **Haha, well, if you want I can make an OC for you, and you can hug Loki that way. Just give me a few details and we can make it work. :)

**Guest(Who I really think is MyLadyAssassin): **Well, I thank you for sticking it through with me. :) Well, Darcy is *amazing* to write, and I have so much fun with her. She's just this... MPDG who everyone loves and just wants to be a friend with I think... at least i would. :P Haha, well thank you :D that made me very happy to see. Well I aim to please. If you guys make a suggestion, I will do my best to go with it in some capacity. Mostly because you guys give me ideas. :P Well... Lizzie's scar shall remain shrouded in mystery for the time being, I'm afraid. Mostly because her history is still a secret - a very large secret - and to reveal it now would cause the whole plot thread to come apart. :( So, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait on that one, my apologies. Haha, well, I always think of Cillian Murphy whenever I think of irish guys. He's like... gah... those eyes. :P haha.

**Marie Allen: **Hello there :) Well, my updating goes like this. Every two weeks. Why? Well, when you're working with a beta there is a lot of logistics to work on, that and the fact that it takes me a bit of time to come up with new stuff. However, it will be a very rigorous schedule, and every two weekends you will get an update. If I write fast, you may get two in a weekend, as I like to update as much as you like to read. So, there's the outline for you guys to understand when you will be getting updates. My apologies for the long wait, but I'm afraid its necessary. :D

Alrighty, here's the next chapter. No Loki/Lizzie interaction, but the next one will have plenty. Cheers :)

* * *

On the edges of the universe, Thanos looked toward the Yggdrasil tree, observing the way the roots of the tree went around the Nine Realms. He could see Asgard from his vantage point, the golden city gleaming brightly in the distance like a star.

"Master," the Other greeted, "The representative from Muspelheim is here."

"And the representative from Jötunheim?" Thanos asked, remaining in his spot. "What was their answer?"

The Other sighed, "There is still no leader of Jötunheim, my lord. The death of Laufey has still made its impact on the realm. The traitor Loki's affect on the realm has caused them to wish to distance themselves from any rights with Asgard. They fear Odin."

"The son of Laufey – what is his name?" the Mad Titan inquired.

"Helblindi, my lord." the Other answered.

"Why has he not taken the throne?" Thanos finished his question.

"There is a rivalry between the two sons of Laufey." the Other informed, "Helblindi and Blyeistr are still at odds of who will reign. Helblindi is the elder, and full brother of the traitor, Loki; but their younger, half-brother still believes he should be the king of Jötunheim. Helblindi wishes to keep peace with Asgard, Blyeistr does not agree."

Thanos smiled, "Find the half-brother, perhaps he would be more willing to form an alliance with the promise of the realm when I am done with Asgard and Midgard." he instructed.

"You think it wise to involve the brother? Surely-"

"You question me?" Thanos boomed, but the Other simply cowered.

"No, my lord. I shall do as you command." he replied timidly. "Also, the Sorceress is here, she wishes to discuss Asgard, my lord."  
"Naturally, the harlot is far too keen on becoming the queen of that realm. Not that I'm interested in such an outcome, she is far too ambitious for her own good. The nine realms will be mine in the end, to believe else wise is not wise at all." Thanos replied, "And that of Aghartha? Has the queen replied?"

"No, my lord, we have yet to find a way into that realm. As you know, the Agharthians are well known for their secret ways of getting in. But I have been able to find one of the Guardians who was wandering Midgard to help us in." the Other replied. "I'm sure we can get him to cooperate."

Thanos nodded, "Good. And what of our informant from Midgard? The mutant... what is his name again?"  
"Shaw, my lord." the Other answered, knowing that Thanos knew the name himself. He was simply proving the point that the mutant 'Shaw' was inconsequential.

The Other could not help but smile. "He has informed us that the Avengers are currently trying to piece together what they know of you. The half-blood Asgardian is trying to tell them what he knows, to warn them."

"What has he told them?" Thanos inquired.

"Everything he knows, my liege." the Other replied. "Shall I send someone to eliminate him?"

Thanos shook his head, "No one shall touch him. I shall silence him myself for good when the time comes." he declared, "For now, let him try to stop me. He shall fail, like he does everything else."

The Other bowed, and left the Mad Titan to himself.

* * *

_Cold. That was all he could feel as he moved about the wasteland on the outskirts of the void. "You failed." a cold voice echoed from behind him, but when he turned there was no one there. "You think you can escape by the protection of your brother?" _

_He first found himself on Midgard, Avengers Tower in smoke as well as the city around it. He could see the Avengers still fighting the Chitauri among others who he couldn't recognize. Tony Stark could be seen shooting past, his armor quite damaged as he took on another Leviathan. The Hulk was clearly trying to destroy as many as possible by smashing the creatures who he could see. He could see Tony Stark's woman also in the fray, her skin glowing as if on fire; a strength which he had never seen her display being exuded as she threw a Chitauri into a wall, burning another when she touched it. Hawkeye was shooting arrows as usual, causing Leviathans to explode by shooting them in the weak spot on their heavily-armored face. He could see Agent Romanoff shooting as she saw, the Captain protecting her and her other female companions from any blasts. _

_The two women who accompanied the Spider were an enigma to him, he couldn't see their faces, but could see what they could do. The woman in black seemingly a blur as she ran toward one of the creatures and shot it with its own gun, her red-headed companion causing another creature from behind her to simply float. The woman in black broke the creature's neck, turning to her friend and nodding. The Captain fell with a cry, and the three women quickly sprung into action to protect him as they were surrounded by the beasts. _

_The last thing he heard before he was taken from Midgard was the sound of the Hulk's roar above the gunshots which suddenly rang out. _

_Asgard gleamed in front of him, but he was rooted to the spot as he saw the Golden City – aflame. The sounds of screams could be heard as he watched the creatures of Muspelheim and Jötunheim overtake the citizens, slaughtering them coldly. The scene panned to his left, where a group of Asgardian and Ljosofal warriors stood bravely, weapons readied to face the creatures. _

_Thor stood at the front, the Ljosofal prince standing beside him; Mjölnir glowing in the firelight as the mighty prince of Asgard swung it toward a group of Muspeheims, the elf prince following him as he swung with his own blade. The creatures fell at their feet, but were simply too many to kill them all as they swarmed them, surrounding the men in a matter of seconds. _

_Sif ran toward him, hacking at the creatures with her elvish blade, but she did not escape the creatures' claws as they suddenly swiped at her exposed neck. Thor let out a howl of anger, enraged at the scene before him, unable to go to her aid as he was pinned to the ground by the creatures. They tore at him, a look of glee in their eyes as they ripped the son of Odin to shreds, pouncing on the Ljosofal prince soon afterwards. _

_He screamed, but could do nothing to help his brother as he was suddenly whisked away. _

_He was in Odin's chambers, the Allfather in Odinsleep as the battle raged onward. Frigga stood by his side, her blades shining in the dull candlelight as some yet-to-be-seen force began to pound on the doors of the chamber. His eyes widened suddenly as Thanos stood there, towering over Frigga. The brave queen attacked him, succeeding in making a rather nasty cut into his chest; but it soon closed over, and he made an attack of his own, forcing Frigga to duck out of the way of his blade._

_It continued for a few minutes before Thanos struck a deathblow, the sword driving through the woman's chest. He screamed for her, but to no avail, her eyes were already glassing over in death. Odin shed a solitary tear, unable to do anything. Thanos turned to where he was, his grin sadistic as he took in his pain._

_"__And so shall fall the house of Odin... Odinson."_

* * *

Loki shot up in bed, breathing labored and sweat coating him in a thin sheen. 'You cannot escape' a voice whispered in his head.

"Stop!" he whispered back, "Stop!" he held his head in his hands, leaning so his elbows rested on his knees. The images would not fade, no matter how he tried to think of other things. Climbing out of bed, he concluded he would not be able to sleep for the rest of the night, and simply decided to occupy his mind elsewhere. There was no question that he had been allowed a glimpse into Thanos' plans, the question was: why?

He left his room in search of the kitchen. As it was five in the morning, he was sure there was something that Elizabeth had left to eat in the fridge – despite Thor's incessant eating. As he entered, he could see Steve sitting at the table, just sipping on a cup of tea.

"Good morning." the Captain greeted, "Can't sleep?" Loki shook his head, but did not answer verbally. "Neither can I. Bad dreams?"  
Loki snorted, "You honestly think I have bad dreams, mortal?" he asked, not really wishing to answer affirmative.

Steve shrugged, "Everyone has them. I wouldn't be surprised if you did – you haven't exactly had an easy life."

"Why are you so... personable?" Loki suddenly asked with curiosity. "Of all the mortals I have met, you are the only one who is in the least bit cordial."

"Everyone needs someone who isn't at their throats. You have enough enemies in this building, and I've never been one to hold long-lasting grudges." Steve answered, "Why? Would you rather I acted like Clint?"

"Did I say that, mortal?" Loki spat, causing Steve to just shake his head.

"No need to get irate, Loki. Though from what you've said, I'll assume you like me personable." Steve retorted.

"I refuse to accept such nonsense." Loki retorted, "Assume what you like, mortal." he said, looking in the fridge to find just a few things which Elizabeth had left. There seemed to be some stew left. He looked at the clock with disgust as to what he had to eat in the fridge... fresh was much better. She usually came at seven, so he could last a few hours until she came to make some breakfast, so he settled with a piece of fruit instead.

"Do you want me to make some breakfast?" Steve offered, knowing that Loki was probably not skilled in a kitchen. "I can make some basic eggs, sausage and toast; it should tide us over until the cook comes."  
"I can wait until she does." Loki replied with a scrunched nose, "Besides, she tends to make a slightly more interesting breakfast."

Steve chuckled, "Is that your way of saying you like her cooking?" he asked.

"You assume too much, mortal." Loki said, "I never said that."

"Sure, I believe that." Steve retorted, "But if you wait until the cook arrives, it probably won't be till nine."

This caught Loki's attention. "Why would she come at nine? Does she not realize that almost everyone here wakes at around seven?"

"Its not Lizzie who's making breakfast." Steve answered, "Tony's cook just got over his sickness, and she has work to do. She probably won't stop by until much later."

Loki hid his dissatisfaction with this sudden decision with a sneer. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"Do you honestly hate her that much? Cause you seem to talk to her a lot." Steve voiced, "What has she ever done to you?"

A chuckle erupted from Loki, "I simply care not for her rather mortal ways. You all are the same in your maturity, and besides Stark himself, she is rather immature."

"Good morning sunshines!" a voice suddenly came in. Darcy. "Nice to see you two awake, I hope you're hungry."

"Did I forget to mention this one in the immaturity scale?" Loki asked Steve, who simply chuckled.

"Watch it, Oh-Horny-One," Steve spluttered on his drink, turning red as she continued. "Or I shall not allow you breakfast."

Loki snorted, "I don't think I would want anything you made. I'll wait for Stark's cook, thank you."

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with me as cook. Tony's cook called last night and said that he was still borderline, so Tony decided to give him a few days more." Darcy answered.

"Then why is not Elizabeth cooking? I may not like her, but at least I know she won't poison me." Loki asked.

Darcy feigned insult, "I can't believe how little faith you have in me. I wouldn't poison you, it wouldn't be any fun." she said, "If I killed you, it would be with one of the various knives which Mr. Stark has around here." to prove her point, she picked up the cleaver which was in the third drawer. "After tasing you of course, that way you couldn't stop me."

Steve gulped, "Remind me never to get on your bad side." he said.

"Duly noted." Darcy replied,placing the cleaver back where it belonged. "Besides, its Lizzie's birthday today. Tony didn't want her ruining her family time, that and she didn't want her coming in hung-over tomorrow." she said.

Loki threw the core of his apple away, "Fine. But I don't want you to touch my food. I'll make it myself, or Rogers can. I don't trust you."

Darcy snorted, "Like you could. I doubt the Prince of Asgard cooks for himself." she said, turning to Steve.

"I'll make something." Steve replied, getting up, "It won't be Lizzie's cooking," he said with a pointed look at Loki, "But its good."

Loki nodded, "Fine, I'll be in my room. Jarvis can tell me when its ready." he said, leaving the room.

Darcy turned to Steve with an amused look on her face. "Do you think I'd poison him?"

"Uh..." Steve stammered, "No?"  
Darcy scoffed, "Psh, why would I poison him? He's too much fun to annoy."

* * *

"Donovan, did you get those proposals for that patent stuff?" Chris Henley, who was in charge of all things that went between marketing and legal asked.

"Yeah, here you go." Lizzie answered, passing him the information. "Hey, do you have those audits which were accidentally sent to us. I need to send those to accounting."

"Care to tell me how those wound up up here?" Chris asked.

Lizzie chuckled, "One wrong number sends stuff all over the building. One bad apple ruins the whole bunch. Just yesterday we got a fax meant for marketing. I'm almost tempted to ask Ms. Potts to just fix it so that every department has a different number." she said

A sudden shout rang through the office building of _"DONOVAN!" _the entire office turned toward Phillip Dale who stormed in – redfaced and huffing.

"Uh-oh." Lizzie said in a childlike voice. "I'm in trouble."

Chris snickered, "Just share the video, Donovan. No use in you having all the fun to yourself."  
"Watch it, Henley, or you may be my next victim." Lizzie hissed back as Phillip came up behind her.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Phillip asked, "The day you're off your probation, you're right back at it. Do you ever stop?"

Lizzie smiled, "I don't know? Does France concede?"

Phillip narrowed his eyes, "You need to grow up Donovan." he said, "Retaliation is not your forte."

Brown eyes rolled upwards, "Au contraire, mon ami. Retaliation is my specialty. In fact, my family thrives on retaliation – its what we do best."

"Then I think we need to have another talk with Mrs. Langley. You obviously do not understand that this office building is _not _your personal playground." Phillip retorted.

"Good luck talking to her, she's still off, and Mr. Stark isn't likely to let you up to the penthouse." Lizzie replied.

Phillip smiled, "Me? No... you however."

"Not happening, I will not be used as a pawn, or proxy. If you want to talk to her, wait until she comes back to work." Lizzie said.

The man opposite of her simply grabbed her arm, heading for the elevator doors. "Well, lets test that, shall we."

"Jerk, I'm not going to prank you again if that's what you're worried about." Lizzie suddenly announced, but Phillip simply shook his head.

"This is about so much more than that." he said as they entered the elevators. "Jarvis, can you take us up to the Penthouse?"  
"Don't do it Jarvis!" Lizzie snapped.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid you are not allowed in the penthouse. Your clearance is rather low." Jarvis replied in polite snarkiness. "Mr. Stark has made it clear that there are no exceptions."

"And Ms. Donovan?"

"She is allowed up, sir... but not if you accompany her." Jarvis answered. Lizzie smirked smugly. Phillip scowled deeper, his eyes glaring daggers at her as she continued to smile – "Forgive me, Mr. Dale" Jarvis suddenly apologized, "Mrs. Langley has just requested that you be allowed up this one time. One moment."

It was Phillip's turn to smirk as Lizzie got a look of shock on her face. This could be bad.

* * *

"Care to tell me why you're locking me in my room?" Loki asked his brother.

Thor shrugged, "Tony has a guest who is not supposed to know of our presence. It is only for a short time."

Loki snorted, "Who could this possibly be?" he asked snidely, "Surely they don't think I'm going to harm their precious mortal now."

The Thunderer shook his head, "I assure you, it has nothing to do with Lady Elizabeth – which, I will remind you brother, she has a name."

"Yes, yes I know." Loki replied flippantly. "I have used her name, you know."

"She is not as bad as you think she is." Thor replied, "She is very kind, Loki. To what cause does she deserve your disdain?"

Loki laughed. "She is a mortal, brother – oh, wait, I forgot you are going to marry one of the dull creatures." he said, watching as Thor reigned in his temper. "Though, it seems your lady is not as dull as some of them."

"Lady Elizabeth is not a 'dull creature', Loki. She is quite enjoyable if you get to know her." Thor argued.

The dark prince shrugged, "I suppose if you like the sarcastic, puffed-up, idiotic banter which she seems to use quite a bit. Rather immature, if you ask me." he lied.

Thor didn't buy it. "Oh? Is that why you have sought out her conversation on more than one occasion, brother?" he asked, watching as Loki's green eyes narrowed.

"I have never sought her conversation." he spat, "The idiotic mortal has continuously stepped in my path, literally. She struck me, not the other way around."

"You did deserve it, brother." Thor replied, "From her point of view, you deserve much worse."

"So I've been told." Loki muttered, "How long am I supposed to stay in here while the mortal visits?"

"Until the guest leaves..." Thor trailed off, "Would you like me to remain with you?"

Loki gave him a withering glare, "Whatever gave you that inspiration?" he asked.

Thor sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Loki..." he started, "You are my brother, you always have been-"

"Wrong." Loki snapped, "I am not, nor ever was your brother."

"Blood does not make brothers, Loki. We had a bond which could not be broken." Thor replied.

Loki scoffed. "Obviously it was," he said, "So there goes your argument."

The god of Thunder paced, "Why, Loki?" Thor asked, "Why are you so different than you were?"

"Perhaps it is a mixture of secrets and abandonment." Loki quipped.

"You were not abandoned." Thor replied, "Mother always took you under her wing."

"And I was shamed for it." Loki retorted, venom lacing his tone so much that Thor actually winced. "Shamed because I was raised by Frigga, and Odin cared not one whit of what happened to me."

"That is no-"

"Prince Thor?" Jarvis interrupted, "Forgive the intrusion, but I'm afraid you're needed. The Fantastic Four have arrived, and there is currently a brawl going on which will need your assistance."

Thor sighed, "Very well." he said, picking up his hammer and heading for the door. He paused, and turned back to Loki. "I wish that one day you will forgive whatever grievances you have against me. I only wish we could go back to the way we were before. That one day we will once more be family." Loki only stared at him as he walked out of the room to attend the Fantastic Four.

"Things will never be the way they were before." Loki muttered to the closed door, setting himself down with a book.

He could vaguely hear crashes going on in the room above him, and despite himself he hoped that Elizabeth wasn't there yet.

* * *

Tony was fully suited as he tried to calm the Hulk down. It had begun calmly enough, as Reed and his crew had arrived, and the Avengers were assembled in the main room. Where it seemed to go wrong was when Johnny Storm had proven himself to be the egotistical ass he usually was... and made a pass at Justine. A rather strong pass. Bruce lost it, quickly hulking out and throwing the fireboy across the room, resulting in pandemonium.

Justine had been forcefully taken out of the room by Clint, who believed the woman was in more danger than she believed. Emma had assisted him, taking Jane with her as they realized the situation was pretty bad. Where they went was unknown at the time.

It was in that moment that Lizzie had shown up with Phillip Dale, who was still fuming. This only seemed to make matters worse as Hulk didn't recognize the man, believing him a threat to – of all people – Lizzie. Steve ran over to protect the man, and Lizzie by proxy as she was caught in the middle, trying to calm Bruce down.

That was how Thor found them. Hulk in the middle, roaring at a petrified Johnny, who hid behind Tony; and Steve protecting Lizzie, Phillip, and Darcy (who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere). Ben Grimm, or the Thing as he was affectionately called by the Fantastic Four, was standing to one side, enjoying the show. Sue and Reed were trying to make heads or tails of the situation, unknowing really of how to deal with the Hulk, and being instructed to stay out of the way by Natasha. Sue tried to argue, but the red-head only had to glare.

The Thunderer sighed, swinging his hammer.

"Hey, Point Break," Tony's robotic voice echoed, "Do not destroy my house while you're trying to subdue him. I don't need to replace everything right now, as budgets are tight."

"Is that really all you care about?!" Steve shouted, "This is a dangerous situation, and all you can think about is your pocketbook!"

"Easy Capsicle," Tony retorted, "Its a very sensible thing to think about."

"If you had any sense." Lizzie quipped from behind Steve.

The slits for eyes that Ironman had would have narrowed if they could have as he said: "Watch it Puppy."

The hammer continued to swing as Thor made to break both he and the Hulk out of the window. However, to everyone's shock, Ben suddenly stopped laughing and stood in front of the Hulk.

"Watch it, big guy." the Thing said as the Human Torch still stood stock still from fear. "I may not like him anymore than you do, but I'm not beyond sending you right out the window."

The Hulk paused for a second, looking at everyone in the room. With a roar, he sent Ben into Tony's expensive bar.

"Geez, that's a hard landing." Tony quipped, "You owe me twenty grand for that, Bruce!"

The Thing suddenly stood from the rubble, stepping forward. "All right," he growled, "Its clobberin' time." However, neither one moved another step as they found themselves locked in a force field. "SUE!" Ben shouted, "Let us out!"

"Not happening." Sue Storm-Richards replied. "We're allies, not enemies."

"He started it." Ben argued.

"Technically, Johnny started it." Steve said from his place beside Lizzie, Phillip Dale being led by Darcy to where Emma was.

Hulk roared again, frustrated at his inability to move. "Hey, big guy." Tony said from beside him, earning a scathing look. "This isn't helping Mellow Yellow. She's in another room, worrying her blond brains out about you, probably screaming her head off at Clint for taking her away." he said, lifting the helmet from his face. "Now I know that Fireboy over here was an idiot. Not even I would make a pass at a girl who is intimately involved with Hulk -" he turned to Johnny, "Or any of the women around here. If I find you flirting with Pepper, I will personally end your family legacy, as you will be without the means of continuing the Storm name."

Johnny put his hands up in surrender, unconsciously protecting his – ahem – 'family jewels'. "Agreed." he said, eying Hulk all the while. "I won't flirt with your girlfriends."

Ben scoffed, "We'll see about that." he said.

"Hey! Have I flirted with Alicia?" Johnny asked.

"Its only because you don't find her attractive, Johnny." Sue quipped from the side as Hulk began to dwindle back into Bruce Banner.

Thor still held his hammer, waiting for anything to happen that he would be needed for... but lowered it as the danger was averted and Bruce was laying on the ground – naked. Lizzie blushed and turned away, mindlessly humming another tune as everyone began dispersing with a sigh of relief. Steve went to find Emma, to let her and her the others know that all was clear. It was then that Johnny approached Lizzie.

"So... are you taken?" he drawled.

"Am I what?" Lizzie replied.

"Taken – you know. Like, are you with any of the Avengers?" he repeated.

"You mean 'if I flirt with you, am I at risk of having all 208 bones in my body broken, as well as possibly being castrated with a serrated knife'?" she asked in all seriousness, finding a strange amusement as she watched him suddenly gulp, "Yes, actually."

Johnny looked around, "Okay... well who are you with... so I don't piss him off?" he asked.

Lizzie smirked. "Oh, I'm not with anyone." she said, "I was talking about what _I'd_ do to you if you mess with _me._"

His blue eyes bulged, "You'd do that?" he exclaimed, not being able to picture the petite woman with large doe eyes being so heinous.

She smiled, "No, but it sounds pretty threatening. But nah, not me – Clint maybe, if you mess with Natasha. Though Natasha may just do it herself, so I wouldn't mess with either of them. Steve wouldn't do anything, really, but Tony will if you mess with Emma. Hulk will smash you into the floor if you mess with Justine – just ask Loki what that's like if you're wondering about being a doll. Jane? Well, if you want an Asgardian prince with a large hammer that can smash large things to smash into you, then I wouldn't recommend it. Uh, I think that's it. But Darcy would probably taser you into oblivion, and I would tell Clint... who would probably aim an explosive arrow at your head, and let it explode – but I'm not particularly dangerous."

He laughed briefly, then stopped, questioning if she actually meant what she said.

"Uh, Miss Elizabeth." Jarvis' voice came from above, "Mrs. Langley is asking for your presence in her room."

"Ooh, kinky stuff." Tony commented from the side, earning a harsh glare from Lizzie's black eyes. "Though I'm not sure I want to know the details."

Lizzie sighed, turning around to head to Emma's room. "Quite frankly, neither do I." she said as someone – probably Tony – began whistling Taps.

* * *

Well, here's the update. My apologies for it being late, but here it is nonetheless. I'll try to update soon, but in the meantime can you review?


	7. Chapter 7

**koryandrs: **Thanks, I'm glad you're liking it so far. :)

Thank you **nachobeats823, FortunesFavour, **and **Jillz16 **for favoriting and following. It was nice to see you guys there.

Alright, so I'm a bit worried about the last chapter as I only got one review. If you like it, please leave a review as they are my motivation to move on :)

* * *

Elizabeth stood like a chastised child in front of Emma. Phillip had just finished explaining what she had done to his office, and although she thoroughly had enjoyed herself, she wasn't too keen on getting consequences. She only wished he would have gotten it through his thick skull that she had no intention of continuing her game with him – nah, he wasn't any fun anymore.

"And what would you recommend, Mr. Dale?" Emma asked, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as a storm – which was probably Thor-induced – raged outside. The funeral had been postponed, and dealing with both grief and a wayward employee wasn't something she relished.

Phillip looked over at the silent Elizabeth. "I think she needs to have some more potent consequences." he said, "Perhaps returning to her post as the file-girl?"

That caught Lizzie's attention, "What?!" she exclaimed, "I worked hard for my position! How could you-"

"You abuse your job, Miss Donovan." Dale replied smoothly, "You are irresponsible. You waste your time on party tricks, and insist on being childish. Being an intern is not something which should be taken lightly, and if I were your boss you would no longer be in my employ."

"Good thing I'm not your intern then." Lizzie said smugly.

"Nevertheless, Miss Donovan, Mr. Dale is right." Emma said softly, "I will take care of this problem, Mr. Dale."

"What are you going to do?" Dale asked.

"Firstly, I think we need to establish if Elizabeth is no longer planning on playing pranks on you." Emma started, "Are you?" her gaze told Lizzie just what it was she wanted to hear: she was getting tired.

"No, Ma'am." Lizzie replied, "Mr. Dale doesn't need to worry about it."

"Good." Emma said quickly, "Does that satisfy you?" she asked Phillip.

For the next five minutes, the two women were subject to Phillip's ranting, and telling Emma how Lizzie should – for all intents and purposes – be fired. Emma and Lizzie exchanged a look of exasperation before they were interrupted by Captain Rogers, who quickly ushered the man out.

"Some people have absolutely no respect anymore." Steve said, "I can't believe he actually had the audacity to give you so much trouble today."

Emma sighed heavily, "He's irritated, Steve. I suppose its understandable." she said.

Steve shook his head, "In my day, no respectable man would come and give more grief to a woman who just lost her husband. It isn't right." he insisted as he sat next to Emma. "How are you doing?"

Lizzie watched the two of them for a moment, feeling somewhat awkward at standing in their private moment. "Well, I need to get going. I have a few more proposals to go over before I can go to my birthday party." she said.

Emma straightened up at that, "Oh, I almost forgot it was your birthday." she said, pulling out a box from under her bed. "From Andy and myself, considering I had to decline your invitation."

Lizzie nodded, "Hey, no worries, I understood." she said with a smile, "I'm just sorry I can't come to the funeral, but at least I can wear black for you." she motioned to her all-black outfit.

Her boss smiled, "Thanks, Lizzie. For watching Andrew these last few days, and for just being helpful I suppose. I just... when I heard that... Garrett... I..." she trailed off, her eyes once more beginning to fill with tears as the Captain put his arm around the woman in comfort.

"Don't mention it." Lizzie replied, looking over at the Captain. "I need to get going, I have... some stuff to get done."

He nodded in reply and she turned on her heel to get out of the room. Once out, she had to pause.

She wished she could have comforted Emma a bit, knowing that the woman needed all the friendly comfort she could get. But Elizabeth was never good at comforting people, her bedside manner nigh on non-existent. Bella had often teased her on it, as she had somehow acquired the nickname 'Ice Queen' after her grandfather's death – something which she was somewhat embarrassed about.

She headed for the elevator, suddenly finding herself face to face with none other than Johnny Storm. "Can I help you, Fireboy?" she asked in irritation.

He smirked, "I realized you were joking in there, when you said that thing about breaking my bones - and I had to come and say that you are pretty convincing." he said, getting a little closer to her.

"Believe me, Storm, I couldn't have been more serious when I told you what I did." she said through gritted teeth. "But I'm afraid I don't have the time to chat right now, as unlike some people I know, I actually have a job."

"Are you saying I don't work, Miss Donovan?" Johnny crooned, his fingers beginning to play with the edge of the scarf that Lizzie wore, his hand creeping closer and closer to her exposed neck.

Unnoticeable to him, she gulped hard. She was fighting her instincts to hit him... or worse. She could hear her heart in her ears, her sight beginning to go fuzzy. "No, no, no..." she muttered softly.

"What? I'm not going to bite or anything." Johnny said with a chuckle, "I just wanted to know if you were free on Friday, but if its a 'no,no,no' then I suppose Saturday could work." the self-centered man said with an arrogant smirk arranged on his features.

Lizzie shook her head, trying to free her thoughts as suddenly Johnny stopped talking. She looked up as he started coughing rather profusely, leaning against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. It was this sound which shook Lizzie out of her semi-trance. "Are you okay, Johnny?" she asked.

"Yeah-" he coughed, "I just... that was weird, my throat just closed up. I can't explain it." he choked out as his breathing regulated. "Sorry, that's never happened to me before."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Lizzie said softly, "I—I need to go."

He grabbed her wrist, "Oh, no you don't. You don't get to just slip away, you haven't even given me an answer." he said, getting a little too close for comfort.

"Let go." she hissed, trying to yank her hand out of his grasp.

"No, you give me an answer first." Johnny replied.

Lizzie's vision began to blur again when a new voice interrupted.

"I believe she told you to let her go."

Johnny turned around, surprised to see Loki standing there with narrowed green eyes. His lips were drawn into a thin line, his posture screaming danger. Lizzie met his eyes, her vision coming back into focus. She let out a sigh, whether it was of relief or stress Loki didn't know.

"Well, well, look who it is. The guy who tried to take over the city, I'm surprised they let you out of prison so fast. Didn't you leave in a muzzle?" Johnny commented, turning to Lizzie, "I thought you said you weren't with anyone." She shook her head, unable to form any words. Loki had stood up for her. Loki. Stood up. For her – the thought was still processing.

"I can hardly see how that is of any relevance to you, _mortal._" Loki said calmly, "She said she wants you to let her go."

Johnny chuckled, "Not until I get an answer." he replied, "Besides, this is... of no relevance to you." he mocked Loki's tone.

"No relevance?" Loki repeated, "As far as I can tell, I know Elizabeth more than you do. That, and I don't make it a habit to touch her when she doesn't want me to." he chuckled, "Though, she tends to do that all on her own."

Johnny's brows furrowed. "She told me that she wasn't with anyone." he said.

Loki smirked, "Whatever gave you the inclination to believe that I care for her in any capacity?" he asked sardonically, "I just don't particularly like you."

"Like that matters." Johnny replied, "From what I hear you're just a reject, an adoptee who somehow wound up so much different than his brother."

"Oh no." Lizzie moaned, closing her eyes as Loki just laughed. A cold shiver ran down her spine.

"How pitiful that you are what Midgard has to offer to protect it." Loki spat, "Against the Mad Titan, your pride will be your downfall. That, and your blatant disrespect for those who are so obviously above you." inwardly, Loki marveled at how much this mortal resembled the Patriot. It was as if they were the same man, except one was a little more slight, and much more disrespecting.

"Well, you haven't seen me in action." Johnny replied proudly, his attention fully diverted from his object of attraction. Lizzie didn't really know what to do, and just stood in her spot for a moment, her mind still wrapping around the entire situation. "I've taken on guys that are bigger than you."

"Oh?" Loki challenged, "Well let's hope you're better on a battlefield than in person."

Johnny took a moment to comprehend what he was just told, when he did, his blue eyes narrowed. "Maybe I ought to just show you here and now what I'm capable of, maybe I can send you back where you belong."

"Johnny..." Lizzie tried to stop the man, but it was too late. She let out a scream as he suddenly burst into flames, not two feet in front of her. She backed away as she tried to extinguish the flames which suddenly licked her sleeves. She had them out in a moment, her brown eyes glazing in anger as she then watched the irresponsible pyromaniac mutant begin to stalk toward the impassive god. "Hothead." she muttered under her breath.

Johnny took a swing, which Loki simply ducked and moved out of the way. He may be a Jotun, but he wasn't particularly keen on getting burned. However, Johnny did not anticipate the sudden icicle which created itself in Loki's hand, a freezing dagger which was suddenly thrown at him. It didn't melt quickly enough as it embedded itself into Johnny's side. He yelled in pain, heating up his body a little more to melt the damn thing.

Loki chuckled quietly to himself as he looked over at Elizabeth, his ire kindling as he noticed her peeling back her sleeve to reveal her reddened arm. The quick-tempered mortal had been so irresponsible, that he had forgotten that she was a mere human. She could not stand the radiating heat which the mutant gave off. He snarled, hating the fact that he had no choice but to use his loathed Jotun side. Were he still in control of his magic, the mortal would have simply been incapacitated, but that had been taken away from him, he had no choice. He created another ice-dagger, throwing it at the irritating man. This truly was a waste of time.

Unknowing to the trio, Lizzie's scream had brought the attention of the Avengers to the hallway, and they all came into the room. Tony moved to get Lizzie out of the way, passing her to Bruce and Reed to inspect her arm. Thor prepared to move forward, only to be held back by Ben Grimm with a shake of the head. "Better not, unless you wanna get burned." Ben said.

"Johnny! What the hell are you doing?!" Reed Richards yelled to his brother-in-law, Lizzie's arm being inspected by Bruce.

"Just teaching Mr. All-Powerful what it is that earth has to offer." Johnny retorted.

"I remain unimpressed." Loki retorted, "Is this the best you can do?"

Johnny growled, extending his hand out to shoot a stream of fire – when his coughing fit returned. He gasped, losing all conscious thought as he found it difficult to breathe. Suddenly his flaming body returned to normal... stark naked. Loki looked to Elizabeth, noticing her suddenly slump to the ground, resting her head on the wall behind her.

"GOD ALMIGHTY!" a shout erupted from Darcy. "Two naked men in an hour? This never happens on my birthday!"

Lizzie glared at the brunette, her cheeks flaming red. "How is it, Dr. Banner?" she asked, her heart beating even faster.

"Eh," Bruce tutted, "Its not too bad. He wasn't close enough to really hurt you badly, its just irritated." he gingerly touched it, earning a slight cry from Lizzie. "Its still burning her," he said to Reed.

"She needs some ice, or ice water, or-" Reed was cut off as Loki appeared next to him... his arm in his Jotun form.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph he's blue!" Darcy exclaimed.

"It's his Jotun form." Thor said as Loki brought his hand to Lizzie's irritated skin.

"That's it, to hang with this crowd, I need meds." Darcy muttered, walking out of the room, "Or maybe I can get some of Stark's whiskey – it should be strong enough..."

Lizzie looked up at Loki, surprise painted on her features. Who was this man? One moment he was hating her guts, arguing about everything; and then he had stood up for her, and now was helping her when Johnny had burned her. The cooling sensation from his skin was somewhat relieving before the burning of a different kind began... frostbite. His Jotun form was too cold for her human body to take, and within seconds the relief was becoming worse, the help beginning to work adversely.

Loki quickly backed off right as she gave a cry of pain, his green eyes widened in confusion. He couldn't believe what he had just done, both in protecting her from the disrespect of Johnny Storm, and in helping her in her injury. He stood abruptly, her eyes following him in shock. He looked down at her, noticing her face was probably reflecting his own. Her brown eyes were transfixed on his green, her mouth in a silent 'o' of surprise as she cradled her injured arm.

The room was silent as they watched the strange interaction. Of everything, they did not expect this kind of behavior from either Loki or Lizzie, yet what they were seeing could not be denied. Loki had helped Lizzie. That, in and of itself, made Tony look down at his discarded whiskey glass... he had only drunk a third of it, it couldn't have been _that _potent.

"What the hell is with all the silence?" Johnny asked from the side, a blanket which had been produced for him by Steve wrapped around his waist.

The spell was broken, and Lizzie was once more a mere mortal in Loki's eyes. He felt disgust at himself, and suddenly turned on his heel, leaving Lizzie to the care of the two doctors. Yet, the same thought ran through both his and Lizzie's heads. Bewilderment. She at the entire situation; and he at his strange behavior.

It was in that moment he decided he was going to stay away from Elizabeth Donovan. No matter what. She was bad business for him.

Tony looked over at Bruce, "Did that just happen?" he asked. Bruce nodded, assisting Reed in getting Lizzie up and into the other room just to make sure she was completely alright. "Well I'll be damned. Diva has a soft spot."

"Did you doubt he did?" Thor asked.

The inventor snickered, "Well, I doubted that he had a heart which beat like any normal human being. I thought maybe it was made of ice..." he laughed to himself, "Pun fully intended."  
"Though..." Natasha began, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at the semi-naked Johnny. "I would like to know just how this whole thing started." Clint stood next to her with a fierce look in his eyes.

"So would I." Steve agreed, his own arms crossed as he narrowed his eyes at his look-alike.

"No doubt it wasn't something pleasant which made Loki suddenly protect her." Thor mused aloud, "Though I am certainly curious what sort of thing may have brought on my brother's rather rare protective side."

Johnny looked between the men of the Avengers, wondering if what Lizzie had originally said was true...

Thor certainly looked like he might just tear him from limb to limb – and rightfully so. The girl was somewhat odd, but she had won a place in the Thunderer's heart, and since she now had somehow revealed the softer side of his brother, she was even more endeared to him. Though Clint and Natasha truly scared him, the archer's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and Johnny knew that the only thing which may save him was his power of flame – other than that, he knew that either one of these two could kill him quite easily.

"Out with it Powerpuff, I wanna know what made Reindeer Games throw ice shards at you." Tony snapped, his eyes betraying any anger which he felt as his posture just looked nonchalant. "And it better not be what I think it is, cause if it is, then I will warn you that my brain was born with a short circuit. I feel no guilt."

The semi-naked man gulped as he looked around the room. As the Avengers, Sue, and Ben were looking at him expectantly; all he could do was wonder where the nearest exit was.

* * *

Meanwhile, Loki was destroying his quarters in a fit of rage. Not only had he protected the Avengers pitiful pet, and helped her when she was burned, but he had used the very thing which made him an outcast in Asgard. He had used his Jotun side to fight the man of fire. He was disgusted with himself. He helped no one, and here he had allowed himself to willingly assist Elizabeth.

He mentally went over what had happened in his mind, remembering Jarvis telling him that he was once more allowed out of his room and that the guest had left. He had walked out, heading for the common room when he saw Elizabeth get cornered by the newcomer. He knew immediately who the man was, based on the fact that he looked remarkably like the Captain. That being said, he remembered all of Stark's comments about the man, mostly of how he was the exact opposite of the Captain. He proved himself to be in accordance to the rumors as he began trying to charm the woman, failing miserably. Loki laughed to himself as he watched, and using his long-acquired skill of keeping silent, he went toward them.

He almost enjoyed the show of Elizabeth geting irritated at the man who cornered her, listening as she basically just told the insistent man to leave her alone. He didn't, naturally, and it was when he began to get too close that Loki took greater interest.

Her eyes got glassy, and suddenly the man's breathing labored. A curious thing, as Loki suddenly knew it came from her. He watched her come to her senses, asking if 'Johnny' was okay. It had amused him to watch the mortal splutter, it reminded him of Fandral – irritating man he was – as both never understood that some women wished to be left alone. It wasn't until he touched her that Loki suddenly intervened.

But why? That was the one thing which had puzzled him since the start, the feeling of anger which welled within him as he watched the man seize her hand and pull her around to face him confusing him more than anything. Yet, his mouth seemed not his own as he spoke, bringing the man's attention away from Elizabeth and onto himself. Loki couldn't help but bait him, watching as his pride overcame his good judgment.

Then the irresponsible idiot burst into flames, accidentally burning Elizabeth. That seemed to have only made him more angry than before – and all without reason. After all, the irritating twit had slapped him... twice! Why in the nine realms would he be angry for something which happened to _her_? She was inconsequential, and had he succeeded in becoming King of Midgard, she probably would have died in the invasion. If he were Thor – which he thanked the fates he was not – he would understand it. His brother was constantly babbling on about how he saved some maiden from certain compromise.

But he was Loki. To be angry that one mortal harmed another was not his concern. What's more, that the mortal who was harmed had deserved it. Yet, he could not believe his own thoughts, in all truth. To compensate, he wrote off his behavior as wishing to test the metal of the mortal who had just joined the Avengers – and was severely disappointed. The boy had a temper, which was easily stoked, and tended to think irrationally, not caring who he hurt in the process. It was not an admirable trait, and Loki had to admit that the boy's pride disgusted him as much as Fandral's did. It wasn't until the boy mentioned his heritage that he was forced to remain impassive... he doubted the All-Father would be particularly pleased to hear from Heimdall that he had killed the git because of his pride. Then he was sure he'd never leave the Tower of Solitude for the rest of his immortal life.

Then, to top it all off, he went and helped the useless mortal twit when she got burned. He _willingly _used his _Jotun _form to help her – that puzzled him to no end. Yet, her eyes... they had been so shocked, and yet curious. And he had to admit, they were a rather nice shade of brown...

He growled to himself, quickly throwing the desk into the wall before yanking a book off the bookshelf and sitting down. The girl would soon be out of his mind, and out of his life. Everything that she was would be inconsequential to him as it wouldn't matter. When Thanos came, there was no doubt in his mind, that she would be one of the first to die, due to the fact that she was so close to the Avengers.

And when she did, then perhaps she would no longer plague him – well, at least he would be dead and never have to concern himself with her again... unless of course, Hel decided to put them in adjacent chambers and she haunted him for the rest of his undying life. With this rather peaceful thought in mind, he settled down with a book – then groaned as he read yet another myth about himself.

"Why is there a constant theme of turning me into a girl? It only happened bloody once!"

* * *

After quite a bit of coaxing, and overall stubbornness, Lizzie was finally capable to convince the two doctors that her arm would be fine. She needed to finish her work, and then do a little shopping before she could go home. Tony told her that she could take the rest of the day off, for which she was grateful; yet, she wasn't quite sure how she was going to explain what happened to her arm to her seanmhathair.

"You could always tell her that you spilled coffee on yourself." Tony suggested.

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "A second degree burn... through my jacket?" she challenged.

"Do you have a better idea?" he asked, but she only shook her head and sighed.

"I'll just... tell her the truth." Lizzie said, "And hope that she does not demand that either I quite, or that she is allowed up here to give Fireboy a piece of her mind."

Tony chuckled, reaching for his bottle of whiskey, only to find it gone. "Jarvis, where's the whiskey?"

"Miss Lewis took it sir," Jarvis answered, "She was muttering something about that if she was, and I quote: 'Going to see smurfs, she wanted to be drunk.' and that she 'Should have taken a psychology course to be able to deal with this kind of-' excuse me sir, but it was a little more explicit after that, but her last statement was that she didn't get paid enough to endure this... situation."

Lizzie chuckled behind her hand as Tony smirked, "Well, at least she has a good excuse."

"Quiet, Puppy." Tony retorted, opening another bottle. "I'm just twenty years ahead of her. Jarvis, see if we have an opening for a political science major."

"Yes sir." the AI replied.

Lizzie stood up a few minutes later, "One thing before I go."

"Making demands of your boss, Miss Donovan?" Tony asked, she shook her head.

"What happened to Fireboy?"

Tony smiled, "Oh, Reed took him back to the Baxter Building. Apparently they have a little more... debriefing to do." He took a sip of his drink, "You should know that Point Break was about to smash the little guy over you. Apparently – _Lady Elizabeth _–" he lowered his voice to imitate Thor "'You are a friend of Asgard, and as its prince, he is under obligation to protect you.' or something like that."

"That doesn't even make sense. I haven't exactly had a deep conversation with the guy." Lizzie replied, _'Except once'. _She added in her head, but that time did not count.

"Well, that's the Big Guy." Tony replied, looking at the clock. "Don't you have to be somewhere?"  
Lizzie smirked, "Anxious to get rid of me, Stark?" she asked playfully.

Tony smiled, "No, but if you stay you're making dinner."

He made a good point, "Leaving now." Lizzie replied, heading for the door. "See you... sometime in the future."  
"Be safe, Puppy." Tony replied, "We do not want the hammer of Thor to come down on anyone who dares to... harm you."

After saying goodbye to Emma, Lizzie went to the elevator. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't almost wishing to see Loki one last time, if for no other reason than to ask him about his behavior – but she didn't.

All the way down to the parking garage, and while she shopped for the last minute things for the two-day birthday party, her mind was restless. In a word, Elizabeth was flabbergasted. Loki had seemed, ever since she met him, to be a selfish, self-pleasing, proud, haughty, and self-serving individual. No one mattered to him but himself, and all others were expendable. Sure, Thor had said he was different before, but that hardly mattered now. This was how he was at present, and Lizzie was having a hard time thinking any differently of him.

Yet, his behavior that afternoon gave cause for questioning. Why would he step in when it wasn't his concern, and Johnny would probably just get the message eventually and leave her alone? What made him goad the Human Torch to a point of attack? Better yet, why did he so willingly help her? Surely he saw her as an irritant, and had said as much before; you don't help an ant, and more so one which insists on biting you every time it sees you. So... why?

She remembered how his cool hand had felt on her then-burning arm, and wondered if his eyes were always so green. She saw something which she never had in the past, some kind of fascination, and loneliness. Was it possible that Loki was fascinated with her? Was it possible that he felt lonely? Yet, the moment Johnny Storm – who she reminded herself to plan a prank on the egotistical jackass later in the week – said something, it seemed as if Loki's self-importance came back into focus; and she was nothing more than an ant under his boot again.

She nearly laughed aloud as she checked out of the grocery store. It seemed that was the question of the day: why. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that she had almost forgotten to pay the cashier, and had to be reminded. That was really irritating.

Once she left the building, she wondered if Thor was upset. Reason? It was raining cats and dogs, and the weather people were clueless of where the front had come from. She burst out laughing when she heard the meteorologist say "Really, its almost like Thor is in town. Maybe he is?"

When she got home, all thoughts of Loki flew out the metaphoric window. It was hers and Bella's birthday, and she'd be damned if she spent it thinking about the god of mischief instead of drinking to her hearts content – after all, you're only twenty-one once.

* * *

Heimdall looked toward Midgard, his golden eyes watching the young Elizabeth. She greeted her family, speaking in her native tongue as she met her distant cousins. He looked at her carefully, knowing from Queen Frigga that this girl would eventually have a large part to play in Loki's life. What part, she would not reveal, but he knew that she had already managed to make a small dent in the stone encasing around the Prince's heart.

"Heimdall?" the Queen's voice came from behind.

"Your Majesty." Heimdall greeted Frigga. "What brings you here?"

She looked where the Gatekeeper's eyes were fixed. "How are they?"

"Loki is currently brooding, Milady; and the girl is celebrating her twenty-first spring." Heimdall replied.

Frigga smiled, "That is nothing new for Loki." she said, "But what has made him sour this time?"

Heimdall chuckled, "The girl." he answered. "He believes she has made him weak in some manner, that he is becoming soft like Thor."

"Loki has always tended to think it weakness to open himself to others." Frigga replied, "What happened?" Heimdall relayed all he had seen between the two that day, including Loki's tantrum afterwars. "Then all is well." Frigga finally said, "I believe, Heimdall, our prince may yet return."

Heimdall smiled at the Queen as she walked away, then returned his gaze to the sullen Prince.

* * *

well? What do you guys think of it? Leave a review, and let me know... the last lack made me wonder if there was something wrong with the chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**MyLadyAssassin: **Haha, alright, I copy. Got you, don't worry about it. I suppose I'm just... well... paranoid about the story as - in the words of Tony Stark - 'It takes a while to get any traction.' :P I'm glad you liked the chapters, and I hope you approve of this one :D Loki defending Elizabeth was actually something which I planned on later - but then decided that they needed a bit of a push for right now. I know, having his POV is a great thing, as I hate the stories that *don't* have the guy's pov. Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Eyre... but I just wish there were a way to get into Rochester's head, do you know what I'm saying? Well, I hope your computer is doing better now, that way you can review sooner :P I'm just kidding, review when you can.

**Iinvalidzz**: I hope this was soon enough. :)

**Koryandrs: **Well, originally it meant... a few things actually. As there are three stories with "LTA" on their title, unfortunately they don't mean Lizzie's adventures. Good idea, but not the case. :) First was 'Loving the Avengers' then it was 'Ladies of the Avengers' (Though that was more of a joke) Then it became a Latin phrase which I came up with which is: Liberum, Temptatio, Amore. Which is loosely translated to, "Freedom, Trial (or temptation), Love" Which kinda embodies all my characters, and what they have to go through. That, and each story has a word. For Steve's story: Freedom, as that is what Captain America is all about; For Bruce: Trial, as he has to go through a lot with being the Hulk; for Loki: Love, because that's what he really needs in his life. Does that make any sense?

**issywig123**: Thank you so very much :D I'm glad you like it. Hopefully you continue to like it as we progress. Please, leave a review on this chapter, I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone. :)

Surprise surprise, we have a chapter one week ahead of schedule. Hopefully that makes you all as happy as it makes me :D Thank you **Lithia Sunset **as usual for your beta'ing. :) No Loki/Lizzie interaction, but its more to understand our OC's life. Also, huge shoutout to those who have followed and favorited within the last week since I updated. I love you all, and I'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts - feel free to leave a review. :D

* * *

"Laoise darlin' how are ye?" Elizabeth heard for the umpteenth time come from another relative who had come for her birthday. Laoise. Her 'Irish name' which everyone insisted on calling her. The reason? Because her Irish family members weren't too keen on the fact that her mother had named her such an English name. It was an Irish thing. She was 'Laoise' and Isabella was 'Brigh'. That was how they had been christened, and that was what the Donovans would use until the end of time. This time it was Great-Aunt Matilda – or 'Tilly' as she was called – who had flown in from Cork especially for the occasion.

"I'm very well, Aunt Tilly, are you enjoying yourself? You certainly look like you are." Lizzie asked, motioning to the glass of alcohol in her aunt's hand and waving to a cousin who lived in upstate.

"Aye, I'm well dearie. What's it like being twenty-one, eh? Pretty big for you." Tilly replied, "And Brigh."

Lizzie looked toward where her sister was introducing her boyfriend to an uncle of theirs. "Well, she got to have her day yesterday... it's my turn now."

Tilly laughed, pulled her down slightly, and Lizzie held in a wince as it was the arm which had been burned the day before. "Any mischief tonight, dear?" she asked. Lizzie smirked, looking toward her grandmother who simply raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps." she replied, "We'll see..."

At that moment, she was called away by her twin cousins – Michael and Patrick, who were both 25 – affectionately nicknamed the Weasley twins. It was a family joke, as the two young men were just as mischievous; in fact, it was they who fueled Lizzie's penchant for it. It all began with a prank which the boys had played on the then ten-year-old Lizzie, where they had put honey in her bed – which backfired as she upped the ante, teaming up with Bella to booby trap their room. Ever since, when they were in the room together, they were known as the 'Three Terrors'.

"What do you want?" she asked them as she poured herself a drink, she was enjoying the freedom with which she could drink now, and was taking full advantage of it.

"Enjoying your drink?" one of the twins asked, and Lizzie assumed it was Michael based on the fact that Michael had a fondness for the color red – which he was sporting.

Lizzie looked down at her glass. "What did you do?" she asked suspiciously.

The other twin smiled widely, "You'll see." he said mysteriously. "You enjoying your night? I mean, you only turn twenty-one once right?"

"So I've been told, but with you guys at my party I worry." Lizzie replied, her brown eyes still looking warily at her glass. Something was up, and she assumed it had to do with retaliation.

She could still remember their faces when she – and the rest of the family – pulled a prank on them for their twenty-firsts. It was Lizzie's greatest achievement when it came to pranks, the one she had done just for the twins, as the grandness truly surpassed all others – in both reaction and money, she could still remember blowing a couple thousand dollars of her hard-earned cash just to do it. Simply put, she had turned both boys' bedrooms to look like hospital rooms, complete with monitoring equipment which she had borrowed from her Aunt Molly. Cousin Jenny had been more than willing to join in as she was a make-up artist, and was happy to assist.

In short, she had made both boys believe they had gotten so drunk on their twenty-firsts that they had been involved in a car accident... launching them into a thirty-year coma. In the family it was considered recompense for their rather hellish reign as the prank kings – and also ending their reign. Lizzie was the family's Prank-Queen, and unless another family member rose up to take her throne, it was very possible she would remain so.

"So, what did you do?" she asked Patrick again.

The boys exchanged a look, then gave a meaningful look at her glass. "We said you'll see." they said in unison, walking off.

Although she didn't trust them as far as she could throw them – which wasn't far – she knew that trying to get information out of them would be like trying to get water from a rock. In other words: impossible. Going to the kitchen, she got another drink, the drink in her hand far too suspicious to indulge in now.

"Hey, you alright?" Bella's voice came from behind her with a chuckle.

Lizzie smirked, "I feel like I'm some kind of damn sheep... and I'm about to be led to the slaughter." she replied, "The boys have something up their metaphoric sleeves, and I'm fighting both curiosity and anxiety. Is that odd?"

"There is nothing which isn't odd about you." Bella replied, "But tell me something, how are things going up at Wayne Tower... I mean... Stark Tower."

A loud laugh came from Elizabeth. "You know what, if I didn't know better I would think that Batman was based off of Tony Stark... good thing I know better."

"They would probably be best friends if Bruce actually existed." Bella said.

"Or worst rivals." Lizzie replied, staring at her drink... there was something funny about it, but considering her knowledge of alcohol was limited she shook off the feeling. "Tell me, how's... Daniel holding up?"

Bella looked out into the living room with a chuckle. "He's trying to deal with the overall Irishness of our family." she replied, "Which is proving to be difficult."

"I'm sure he'll manage." Lizzie said, "If he's serious about you."

Her twin scoffed, "He's not."

"Oh, that's pleasant." Lizzie replied.

"You know something, perhaps if you weren't so lonely, you wouldn't be so cynical." Bella retorted. Lizzie simply glared at her. "As your older sister-"

"Six hours older." Lizzie interrupted.

"–I'm the one who must look out for you." Bella continued her blue eyes narrowing at her sister.

Lizzie's face turned incredulous. "Yeah, because you have experienced everything before me... oh... wait..."

Bella just shook her head, "You have to move on Lizzie. Not every guy is like Alex, you should know that by now."

"Zip it." Lizzie spat, taking a swig of her beer. It was starting to affect her, but she couldn't help but shake off the feeling that the boys had something up their sleeves – speaking of sleeves, she lifted her own to take a look at her slightly-red arm.

"You never told me how that happened." Bella commented.

"Because I can't, Bella." she replied.

"I'm your sister I think-"

"I work for Tony Stark, and am currently allowed in his private apartments." Lizzie stopped her, "As of right now, I am privy to certain information which I cannot reveal yet. You'll find out eventually, but not right now. It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Bella's tone turned to worry. "What exactly are you getting yourself into?"

"Bells, I'm in the building with a group of superheroes. One turns into a giant green guy when he gets mad; one dresses in a suit and flies around New York; one is from the 40s, and is a scientific experiment; two are deadly assassins; and one calls lightening down from the sky. I think it's safe to say that I'm not in Kansas anymore." Lizzie retorted.

Bella looked contemplative, "Liz... I heard that there was a... guest in Stark Tower."

"Did you really?" Lizzie replied sarcastically. "I can neither confirm or deny such claims, I'm afraid"

"Who is it?" Bella continued, unfazed by Lizzie's attitude.

The brunette stared at her sister for a few seconds. "I can't tell you... you'd get mad."

"Why would I get mad? Do I know him?" Bella's eyes widened, her voice lowering to a whisper. "Is he – you know – one of them?"

Lizzie shook her head, "Nah, we left them behind a while ago." she replied, taking another sip "There's no way they'd be able to track us down... I don't think they can't remember us."

"Are you sure about that?" Bella countered, "Because you di-"

"Bella! Lizzie!" Cousin Keira called, popping her head through the door. "Seanmhathair said it's time to cut the cake."

The twins instantly got off the counter, pretending they hadn't just been discussing a sensitive topic as Lizzie reached into the fridge to get the cake.

* * *

Loki stood out on the balcony of Stark Tower, trying to see the stars. So far they had been veiled to him, the smog of New York causing for only the brightest to shine – and only very dimly. He wished that he had his magic, so as to clear a patch of the fog... but he didn't, and that fact alone made him rather depressed. However, what little he could see did soothe him in a way, and despite himself he imagined he was back in Asgard, with Frigga pointing out the different constellations. They were different here than there, but it still did the same for him.

While outside, with only his thoughts to occupy him, he wondered if his mother knew what was going on. He had no doubts that Heimdall had reported to Odin of various things which had happened ever since he arrive on Midgard; but he wasn't sure that Frigga knew. Out of his entire fake family, only Frigga was the one that he truly was sad that he disappointed. She knew what it was to not truly belong; after all, Thor wasn't her son... then again, neither was he.

"What are you doin' out here, Smurf?" Tony's voice came from behind him. "Enjoying how the pollution enters your lungs in a poisonous fume?" Loki ignored the man as he sat down beside him, chuckling. "Too bad you're not Lizzie, she would have given a nice retort. Probably would have quoted Lord of the Rings or something..."

"Why are you here, Stark?" Loki growled, speaking for the first time.

"He speaks!" Tony exclaimed. "Eh, I'm just here to be a thorn in your side. Do you mind?"

"If that is the case, then yes I do." Loki replied.

Tony snickered. "Well, too bad."

"Honestly Stark, one would think that you are simply here to be a mindless dolt. Surely you have some reason to come out and bother my solitude." Loki finally said.

"Alright, alright," Tony conceded. "We're all a bit curious, is all."

"About what?" Loki inquired, though in reality he already knew what it was that caused the Avengers to be curious. Quite frankly he felt the same.

"About why you wear a horned helmet." Tony's sarcasm shone in his tone as Loki gave him a quizzical look. "About why you did what you did yesterday afternoon with Lizzie of course!"

"Ah, naturally your curious natures would turn to that slight." Loki said.

Tony scoffed, "Hey, you're the one that made a scene. We just want to know why you decided to suddenly stick up for a girl who you've made obvious you hate?"

Loki shrugged, "I assure you, it had nothing to do with her." he said. "The proud Midgardian was more my target-"

"Uh-uh, I'm not buying it." Tony interrupted. "If you wanted to kindle Powerpuff's fire then you could have done it in a different manner. He's going to be around here for the next – well, however long until Mr. Purple comes a-calling – so you'd have ample opportunity to irritate him."

"Why I do what I do is none of your business Stark." Loki retorted, "If I say that it was because I wanted to irk the man, then that is the reason." he stood up from his place on Tony's chair, making his way back into the apartment.

"Why is it so hard for you to admit you care about Short-Dark-and-Pretty?" Tony asked.

"I couldn't care less about her, Stark. So I don't know what you're talking about." Loki replied, "So unless you intend to remain in your childish imaginations about what motivated me to interrupt... Storm." he spat the name. "Then I think you need to accept facts. Elizabeth is of no consequence to me."

"Right, because you helped her with her burn for no good reason." Tony said.

Loki sighed, "I didn't help her, Stark." he said quietly, "In fact I probably gave her frostbite."

"Sure you did." the billionaire replied, "Bruce said that if you hadn't intervened her arm would probably had been worse."

The Asgardian's eyes snapped to Tony's. "How bad would it have been?" he asked, biting his tongue immediately after.

Tony smirked, as Loki had exposed his true thoughts. "Burns work in a way that even when the cause is gone, the burn keeps destroying the tissue underneath. The sooner the burn is introduced to cold, the better. Had you not intervened, and as quickly as you did, she would have burned a bit deeper and probably it would have been more painful." he explained, "As for the frostbite, apparently there was no proof of it, or very slight. You didn't hurt her. Though, I'm not sure why you helped her in the first place."

Loki still didn't know what had caused him to do what he did, but he wasn't willing to admit it to Tony. "As I said before, I have my reasons."

The billionaire's eyes darkened. "As long as those reasons are not manipulation, or anything which will harm her, then I have no qualms." he said.

"What do you take me for, Stark? Better yet, what makes you think that I could manipulate Elizabeth?" Loki asked. "I sincerely doubt she'd allow it."

That seemed to make Tony happy, and with a large smile he nodded. "Well then, I'll leave you to your depression."

"Whatever gave you the idea that I was depressed?" Loki asked, "I most certainly am not." his green eyes shone with a strange emotion... was it fury?

"Well, then I'll leave you with thoughts of butterflies, unicorns, and rainbows." Tony said, getting up and heading to go back inside. "By the way, just so you know, none of us like Powerpuff Boy, and we've actually set up a little way to keep him away from Lizzie."

"Whatever made you think I wanted to know that, Stark?"

Tony shrugged, "Just thought you should know." and with that, he left Loki to himself once more. Only now the trickster was irate at what the Avengers were assuming.

No doubt the next time he saw Elizabeth, he would set the record straight.

* * *

The next morning, Lizzie awoke with a clear mind – as if she hadn't been drinking the night before in any way. Getting out of bed, and placing her mechanical locket watch around her neck - a birthday present from her grandfather on her mother's side from years before - she went downstairs to find her family gathered in the family room... putting up decorations for the party. Confusion immediately flashed through her mind.

"Oh, there she is!" Bella exclaimed, embracing her sister in a tight hug. "We thought you'd died or something, you've been asleep for ages."

Lizzie looked at Bella suspiciously. "Didn't you say that yesterday morning?"

Bella tilted her head, "Are you alright? – Hey, you didn't start partying before you turned twenty-one did you? I mean, I'm a little hungover this morning, but I'm twenty-one now Lizzie! I can do that."

"Why would I drink at your party when mine was only twenty-four hours away?" Lizzie replied slowly, "It's just – you said the exact same thing... what day is it?" she clicked open her watch, noting that it was currently 9 o'clock in the morning. She looked at the clock on the stove, and it recorded the same time. She let out a sigh of relief.

"The second." Bella answered. "Why?"

"Either I'm having a Groundhog Day moment, or I had an excessively intricate dream last night; where all of my birthday occurred, and I had a few shots of whiskey." Lizzie said, turning around. "It still only comes once a year right?"

"Last I looked, Liz." Bella replied, "My birthday was last night, and yours is tonight... remember?"

Lizzie began getting flustered. "Well, yeah, but... Bells, I didn't... you know..."

"What, Liz?"

"You know... turn... time... go back a day." Lizzie lowered her voice to a whisper.

Bella looked at her with a giggle. "Lizzie, I think I'd know if you did that. I'm not so drunk from my own birthday to have lost a day, sis. Today's the second."

Lizzie looked around, running a hand through her hair as she sighed. "It seems so familiar." she said, her voice light as if far away. "Is today really the second? You're not playing with me are you?"

"Lizzie, I think you would know if I was lying to you." Bella said, "Wouldn't you."

"Well, yes," Lizzie replied, "But – you know, you did say the same things yesterday..." she trailed off as she heard a very light snicker. "Who's that?" she asked, coming around the corner to see a redheaded cousin standing there, his look-alike standing next to him. Suddenly, it all clicked, and the pieces of her mysterious puzzle came into place. "You!" she shouted, pointing to her sister with wide eyes. "You little-" she stopped, spinning to face her twin cousins. "I should have known you two-faced – you told me to watch what I drank. I should have known – what did you put in it?"

"Hangover medicine." one of the twins replied.

"I googled every way to cure a hangover," Lizzie replied. "There is no way to make it happen that fast." her arms crossed over her chest, a brown brow raised in skepticism.

"Sure there is," the other twin added, mimicking her stance. "We're chemists, remember?"

"We can do anything as long as we have the ingredients." the first said.

"And get away with it because it's called..."

"Science." they said in unison. Bella suddenly started laughing at Lizzie's look of complete shock; she hadn't been expecting this, but Bella could see that the brunette was impressed.

Seanmhathair came from the kitchen with a smirk on her face. "I suppose this is where I say: you got your comeuppance, Elizabeth. If you don't want to be played, then you shouldn't do the same."

Lizzie laughed, "Well, I must say that I didn't expect that. Congrats, my cousins, I think we can safely say we're even." she paused. "For now that is."

The boys nodded, giving her a hug before they announced that it was time for them to go. Apparently they had stayed just to play this on her, and now they needed to get to work before they got fired for misuse of company material.

When they were gone, Lizzie ran back upstairs. As long as she wasn't hungover, she figured she could get some work done at Stark Tower.

* * *

The air was tense at Avengers Tower, as both the Avengers – plus Loki – and the Fantastic Four were currently embroiled in their first meeting. Loki was explaining to the Fantastic Four everything he had been debriefing the Avengers on for the last few days, trying to ignore Johnny as much as possible. Though truthfully, in his mind he was devising a clever way to make sure that the 'flamethrower', as was one of Tony's nicknames, got himself killed first. Bruce was trying his hardest, and considering that Justine was currently with Emma it helped somewhat. Johnny wasn't in the same room as her... he could relax.

Clint and Natasha, however, were the two that made Johnny want to disappear. It wasn't typical that he found himself intimidated, but right now he felt as if they would rather kill him than work with him – which, for the most part, was true. Thor sat stone-still next to Loki, Mjolnir within arm's reach, as if in warning.

Reed now looked contemplative, "This is really going to have to include everyone we can find. Have you contacted Professor Xavier?" he asked.

"We got called Xavier a few days ago," Black Widow replied, "But most of their team is in France, chasing Magneto."

"Who's Magneto?" Steve asked from Loki's side.

Natasha smirked, "He's a mutant version of Loki." she replied. "Hates humans, thinks them below him – you know, just the everyday villain."

"I am not the everyday villain." Loki quipped quickly.

"'There are no men like me' is what you said in Germany." Steve retorted, "You honestly still believe that?"

"Well... yes." was Loki's reply.

Steve looked a little suspicious while Tony let out a laugh. "C'mon Cap, the Smurf is simply egotistical. He'll never admit defeat... even when he's completely helpless."

"I am not helpless." Loki growled.

"I never said you were." Tony replied smoothly, causing Loki to recap the words which he had said in his head. "I said 'When you're completely helpless' not that you are."

A knock resounded on the door, and when none of the men got up to answer it, Natasha huffed and went to get it. Darcy stood on the other side, a screwy smile on her face. "Hey, I thought you should know, there's a guy who said some guy named Xavier sent him. Calls himself... Woolly or something like that." she informed, causing the Avengers to get up.

"Send him in Pup." Tony called, earning a sharp look from Clint.

"I thought you called Lizzie 'Puppy' or 'Pup'." he said with narrowed eyes.

"Lizzie has a new nickname, and Darcy gets distracted like a puppy does. So she's now 'Pup'." Tony explained as Darcy went to get 'Woolly'.

"Dare I ask what you're calling Lizzie now?" Natasha asked.

Tony snickered, "Ah, that's a secret until Lizzie gets here." he replied as the door opened again.

This time, however, it was definitely not Darcy. Steve seemed to recognize him, standing up to greet the man. "Logan?"

The newcomer looked at the Captain, a look of recognition on his face. "Captain." he greeted, "It's been a while since I saw you. I heard you were on ice for a few years."

Steve smiled, "Yes, well, you heard correctly." he said, "I'm surprised to see you still up and about, I wouldn't expect it after... well, so many years."

Wolverine chuckled, stroking his mutton chops a moment. "Well, it's a bit of a long story – and one which I'm not interested in telling." he said, "But I suppose it's good to see you still around."

"I blame the ice." Tony said, "It not only stuck him in the same body without aging, but it also seemed to keep his mind trapped in the past."

Steve purposefully ignored Stark's comment, "I heard you're with the X-Men now?" he said to Logan.

Logan shook his head, "I'm with no one. I just happen to know Charles Xavier, and when he heard that you needed help he contacted me." he replied, finding a seat next to Johnny – as no one wished to sit next to him – and sitting down. "So, what's going on? Airhead in the other room seemed to be unable to give me a good answer."

The Avengers gave a collective sigh, "Well, before we begin, we should probably do introductions." Natasha said.

"I'll do it." Tony said, sticking his hand out to point. "Thor of Asgard, god of thunder, also known as Point Break; Clint, or Hawkeye; Natasha, or as she's known to most of the populous, Black Widow; Loki or – as I like to call him – Reindeer Games; Captain Spangly-Pants you know; Bruce, or the Hulk – so don't piss him off, and as Johnny can tell you, don't make a pass at his girlfriend." Logan smirked at the young man beside him, taking a moment to notice his similarities to the Captain before turning back to the eccentric billionaire. "Reed Richards, known as Stretch Dude – okay, Reed, I don't know your real alias, stop glaring; Ben Grimm, the Thing – aptly named if you ask me; Sue Richards, Invisible Girl except for the clothes; Johnny Storm, who you're sitting next to, known as Powerpuff around here – that's the nicest name for him. Last, but not least, is me: Tony Stark also known as Ironman."

Wolverine scoffed, "Nice little team you have here." he commented. "But what I'd like to know is:" he looked at Loki, "Considering you tried to destroy New York, what the hell are you doing here?"

Loki stared at the man, opening his mouth to answer when Thor did so. "He is here to inform us of our foe. Loki is the only one who really knows anything about him in our realm, and therefore is the only one who can help us defeat him." he said, turning to his brother with a large smile.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I hope you are as straightforward as you're pretending." he said, "Or you'll find admantium a rather hard metal to cope with in your body."

"I'll try to remember that." Loki said; he took this man a little more seriously than the Human Torch. It was obvious that the threat was not as much pride as it was 'I don't tolerate betrayal.' Loki was able to tell the difference, and begrudgingly respected Wolverine. "Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning-"

"Uh, no need." Tony said, handing Logan a disk. "Here's all of our meetings over the last week, put down on this little discus and ready for your viewing pleasure. After all, we are past the basics, and if you want to know what's going on, you can take a gander later. Sorry Loki, but Jarvis cooked this sucker up this morning after he watched you stru – explain everything to the Fantastics here."

Loki raised an eyebrow at Stark, surprised that the man would be so helpful, and noticing that for once he noticed his near slip-up.

"So I'm coming in in the middle." Logan said slowly, "And you're not going to catch me up first?"

"Nope, you just watch that and you'll be caught up – I take it you're staying the night?" Tony continued, "Drink?"

"Sure." Logan replied, staring at the disk in his hand before pocketing it. "And I'm only staying if I decide that your little group is something I want to be a part of."

"We wouldn't have it any other way, Logan." Steve replied with a smile. "I remember you were a good soldier. It would be nice to have you on our side."

Logan nodded, taking the offered drink from Tony's hands.

"Uh, sir," Jarvis interrupted. "Miss Donovan is here."

"What? I gave her the day off to nurture a headache that she no doubt got last night from turning twenty-one." Tony replied. "Tell her to go home."

"Well, sir, I did remind her, but she said that due to a prank which was pulled on her this morning, she doesn't have a hangover." Jarvis replied.

Tony spluttered. "How did she manage that?"

"Perhaps you should have her explain sir, relay is not my strong suit." Jarvis quipped.

"Bull, J, I programmed you for relay." Tony replied as the door opened and Lizzie stepped in. "What are you doing here, Vitalii? You're supposed to be home, nursing a hangover."

Lizzie looked at Tony with a puzzled expression before she burst out laughing. "Did you seriously just change my nickname because of Vitalii Sediuk's recent pranking the Grammys?"

Tony gave her a thumbs up. "You haven't answered my question."

"Well, my cousins are also pranksters, and for my birthday they decided an anti-hangover drug would be a good way to have payback for my prank on them a few years ago." Lizzie answered, stepping further into the room. "So, I currently am hangover-free, and figured I'd come back before Darcy poisoned you all." in the distance they all could hear Darcy's undignified 'Hey!' being yelled.

"Alright, I suppose that's acceptable." Tony replied, "As you can see, we're in a meeting with the Fantastic Four..."

Lizzie nodded with a smile toward the Richards' and Ben, to Johnny she just gave a mischievous wink. The Human Torch gave a quick look at Loki, as if expecting him to lash out in some way. Needless to say, the trickster simply ignored the mortal, instead watching as Lizzie looked around the room. He knew what he had planned for the egotistical – as Lizzie would say – jackass, but he was curious just what it was that she was going to do.

"How's your arm, Miss Donovan?" Reed asked.

"I was just about to ask that." Bruce said.

Lizzie walked toward the doctors – who actually had sat next to each other – and lifted her sleeve. Both doctors examined her arm briefly, and Bruce surprised everyone by giving a nod in Loki's direction as if to say: 'Good job'.

"Now, we also have a newcomer." Tony said, motioning toward Logan – who Loki had noticed only watched Lizzie in silence. "This is Logan, known as Wolverine."

Lizzie's brown eyes snapped up, and with a slight smile she extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Logan." she said, though her tone made Loki wonder if she knew the newcomer.

Logan gave her a – seemingly rare – smile. "My pleasure, Miss Donovan."

* * *

Well? What do y'all think? How was it? Leave a review below, please noting that I pretty much survive on your guys reviews. :D Looking forward to seeing you soon.


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